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Northland District Health Board is partnering with Ngati Hine Health Trust to build a new Whanau Ora centre or integrated family health centre as part of its upgrade of Bay of Islands Hospital.
Chief executive Nick Chamberlain says a new accident and medical department will be a single triage point serving both the Whanau Ora centre and the hospital.
The $8 million complex in Kawakawa will also include a new eight-bed renal unit.
Ngati Hine Health Trust chief operating officer, Maxine Shortland says the trust wants to build the centre with the same design principles underlying its award-winning Te Mirumiru early childhood centre in Kawakawa.
This will include low maintenance natural materials and vegetation, capturing and treatment of wastewater, and passive heating and cooling systems.
As well as housing three GP practices, the centre will include community and specialist nurses, health promotion kaimahi, telemedicine and laboratory services, a dispensary, podiatrist, physiotherapists, a radiography suite, dental surgeries, gymnasium and an after-hours GP sleep-over suite.
Construction will start in October.
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