Community Māori nurse Ms Elizabeth Jane Bullmore, known as Irihapeti, has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to seniors’ health, particularly Māori.
Ms Bullmore, of Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Kāi Tahu, Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Te Rārawa-Ngā Puhi descent, has dedicated her career to improving health outcomes for kaumātua and their whānau through culturally responsive care.
As a community Māori nurse, she has combined traditional Māori approaches with contemporary health systems, helping ensure older Māori receive care that recognises whakapapa, tikanga, whānau connection and cultural safety.
One of her major contributions has been the development of the Kahukura Kaumātua Programme, a monthly kaupapa Māori day programme that blends clinical health promotion with cultural celebration. The programme has supported kaumātua to remain connected, informed and empowered in their health journeys.
In 2017, Ms Bullmore established Whare Tiaki, the first explicitly kaupapa Māori supported living facility for kaumātua in Ōtautahi Christchurch. The initiative created a model of care grounded in Māori values, supporting older people in an environment that reflects their identity and needs.
She also initiated and led the Te Tairanga Kaumātua Collective, a regular hui of health professionals working with Māori. The collective provides advice on care, access to services and support for the older population, helping improve coordination across the health sector.
Ms Bullmore has contributed to important research reframing how frailty is understood within te ao Māori, including recognition of Waikare o te Waka o Meihana, the double-hulled waka framework. Her research into health and social isolation among older people has influenced community care nationally and contributed to wider international research involving adult home care in Canada and Finland.
Her work with Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu has helped influence the delivery of Whānau Ora Navigators, contributing to positive health outcomes for almost 5,000 Māori. She also helped design and deliver Taurite Tū, recognised as the first indigenous falls prevention programme.
Alongside her community and research contributions, Ms Bullmore is a part-time Lead on the new Puahou Tapuhi o Aotearoa Bachelor of Nursing at Ara Institute of Canterbury, helping shape the next generation of nurses. She also chairs Te Rōpū Kawawhakaruruhau – Cultural Safety, continuing her commitment to embedding cultural safety in healthcare.
Her appointment as an MNZM acknowledges decades of service to kaumātua, Māori health, nursing, research and culturally grounded models of care.
Ms Bullmore’s work has helped transform how health services respond to older Māori, ensuring care is not only clinically effective, but also mana-enhancing, whānau-centred and rooted in te ao Māori.
