She trained in Hamilton for two years before returning home to be with her mother and seven siblings when her father died.
She worked at Kawakawa's Bay of Islands Hospital, completed her training as a Registered
Nurse Aid, then became an enrolled nurse in 1966, completing her nursing registration from Palmerston North.
She understood the need for Māori health workers to visit their own people, and noted the difference it made to have a Māori nurse explain procedures and listen to concerns. And as a diabetes nurse, she was shocked to find that so many people had "no idea" about the disease.
Sometimes her dedication came at the expense of her family. Her son recalled peanut and raisin sandwiches she'd make for them when she had to leave home early, and on one occasion she got lost in the Waikare bush when she was trying to find the home of a patient.
Patu worked in partnership with Ngati Hine Health, and for the Northern Region Correction Facility (Ngawha prison), which she said allowed her to meet people of many different ethnicities and to understand their religious beliefs and health viewpoints.
She later became a relief nurse at the Russell Medical Centre, the final role in her career, and now devotes time to marae clinics, in conjunction with Ngati Hine Health. She is a strong advocate for natural medicine, and produces her own remedies made from native plants.
Former Prime Minister and Russell resident Dame Jenny Shipley presented the certificates to her on behalf of the Minister of Health.
Her diverse volunteering activities include:
• Helping to establish and run hauora clinics in Russell, for both the people of Russell and the surrounding communities of Waikare, Rawhiti, Ngaiotonga and Okiato, including marae-based eye and podiatry clinics and sessions on health and wellbeing.
• Volunteering for the Kawakawa rural ambulance service for 30 years.
• Assisting people with everyday tasks, such as shopping and cleaning up, as well as holding someone's hand during sad times.
• Assisting kuia and kaumātua into pensioner housing.
• Helping people transition from prison to community living.
• Making people aware of the Covid-19 testing available and how to access it.
• Assisting with the distribution of food parcels to families and whānau during Covid-19 lockdown and being available 24/7 to take their calls.
• Coordinating and supporting communities and medical practitioners with flu injections and Covid-19 testing in Kororareka/Russell.
"With her immense drive and passion for nursing, her love for her many communities, and her ability to work across various agencies, Patu has been able to coordinate the right people at the right time to get the right results. It's what she does, whether it's a health matter, whānau experience, social or educational unmet need," the ministry said.
