September 12, 2018
Procare shift gives Norman bigger target
LANCE NORMAN INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
A leader in Māori public health has jumped to the country’s largest primary health organisation.
Lance Norman will start as head of equity and Māori health outcomes for Procare in October.
For the past five years he headed Hāpai Te Hauora, taking it from being an Auckland Māori health provider to one with national contracts in Māori public health, gambling harm reduction, tobacco control advocacy, and reduction in sudden death in infancy.
He says Procare wants to address Māori and Pasifika health gaps, taking as an example the success of campaigns to increase immunisation rates in those populations.
"So it is achievable but it doesn't come easily without resourcing, co-design models that are positive for our whānau, and an equity lens that says we need to focus on these vulnerable whānau in terms of their health status. Procare's population health document highlight where the gaps and and highlights some of the solutions. I intend to accelerate the implementation of those solutions for our whānau," Mr Norman says.
Procare’s enrolled base includes 100,000 Maori and a similar number of Pasifika.
Lance Norman says many Maori whanau use hospital emergency departments, and as Procare’s head of he will encourage understanding of the benefits of enrolling with a PHO.
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