Takapau community asked for input into new wellbeing facility

It has been 34 years since the old Takapau Post Office was revitalised, reopened and repurposed as the Takapau Health Centre.

The Takapau Community Health Centre Charitable Trust needs help from its community.

The trust is holding a public meeting at the Takapau Town Hall on Tuesday, June 27, at 5.30pm to gather thoughts on a proposed new wellbeing facility.

It has been 34 years since the old Takapau Post Office was revitalised, reopened and repurposed as the Takapau Health Centre, the brainchild of Takapau resident and nurse Anne Lloyed who mooted the idea of buying the old building and starting the centre.

At the centre’s 30th anniversary, founding trustee and former president Lyla Koppen said “When we started we had market days every six months to pay the power bill. Everyone would donate something. It was hand to mouth, a real struggle.”

Koppen said she didn’t think the plan would get off the ground. “But Anne was a determined lady. I am glad she saw the health centre open.”

The centre employed its first nurse, Linda Gabrielle, on March 16, 1992 for four hours a day. It is now open two full days and three half days a week with a GP clinic once a week, with health services provided by a nurse practitioner and registered nurse.

To move the service into the future and continue to serve the community, the trust now has a building plan and a site plan for a new wellbeing facility, with a spokesperson saying “We have lots of plans… we also plan on getting your support and your input.

“It’s only an hour of your time to be part of a great development for our community.”

Takapau Community Health Centre Charitable Trust public meeting, 5.30pm-6.30pm, Tuesday, June 27, at the Takapau Town Hall, Charlotte St, Takapau.