A major milestone for Waitākere Hospital and West Auckland
A significant milestone for healthcare in West Auckland was celebrated last week, with the official opening of Waitākere Hospital’s new hospital facility by Minister of Health Hon Simeon Brown.
The new development brings additional capacity and modern healthcare facilities to Waitākere Hospital, including a new 30 bed general medicine ward and is designed to support the establishment of critical care services at Waitākere Hospital. The general medicine ward will welcome its first patients in the coming weeks, providing modern, thoughtfully designed spaces for patients, families and the healthcare teams caring for them.
For Well Foundation, the occasion was also an opportunity to celebrate something extraordinary our community has helped achieve.
Minister for Health Hon Simeon Brown, Dr Laura Chapman Chief Medical Officer Health NZ Waitematā with Well Foundation donors Pat Heron and Lilly Douglas
Through our Every Moment Matters campaign, generous donors and supporters contributed nearly $500,000 towards enhancements to the new facility, helping fund innovative healthcare equipment and additional features designed to make the environment more comfortable and supportive for patients and their families.
While the Government’s $96million investment funded the development itself, Well Foundation set out to add an extra level of care and comfort to the new spaces. Thanks to our community, this includes enhanced family spaces, equipment to support the care of babies and children, technology connecting critical care teams across hospitals, and other innovative equipment to support patients and clinical teams.
At the heart of the campaign was a simple idea: when someone you love is seriously unwell, every moment matters.
Hospital care affects far more than the person in the bed. Partners, children, parents and members of the wider family may spend long and difficult hours alongside someone they love. Creating spaces where families can stay close, find some privacy, rest and support one another was therefore an important part of what our donors helped make possible.
Well Foundation donors with Well Foundation CEO Ruth Morse
Celebrating the people behind the generosity
Well Foundation donors joined hospital leaders and guests at the opening, giving some of those who supported the project an opportunity to see the completed spaces and the difference their generosity has made.
We were particularly pleased to haveLilly Douglas, representing the Douglas Charitable Trust, and Pat Heron meet the Minister on behalf of Well Foundation. Both have been generous supporters of Well Foundation and healthcare in West Auckland.
For Pat, supporting the project was about investing in something that could one day matter to any family in the community:
“I wanted this gift to go where it would make the most immediate difference. None of us know when we or someone we love might need critical care. Knowing that this donation helps build a future modern, well-equipped ICU gives me immense peace of mind that our community is protected.”
Throughout the campaign, people gave for many different reasons. Some wanted to give back following their own experiences of hospital care. Others wanted to support the growing West Auckland community. Several chose to make gifts in memory of people they loved.
One donor supported the project in memory of her father, Michael Hill:
“Dad was such a special person who cared deeply about people and his community. Supporting the development of the new Waitākere ICU felt like a meaningful way to honour his memory and recognise the difference that quality healthcare and the people who provide it can make to families during some of the most difficult times in their lives.”
Another donor made her gift in honour of her parents, Pio and Takawai Jacobs, who dedicated much of their lives to supporting patients and whānau through their work as kaumātua and Māori Cultural Advisors within Auckland's health services.
Their stories, along with those of many other supporters, are now recognised on a special donor wall within the new facility, providing a lasting acknowledgement of the community that helped make these enhancements possible.
Made possible by our community
Seeing the completed spaces for the first time was a special moment for our donors and the Well Foundation team.
The new facility represents a major investment in healthcare for West Auckland, but it also demonstrates what becomes possible when public healthcare and community generosity come together.
Every donation, from individuals and families to charitable trusts, community organisations and businesses, has contributed to creating an environment designed not only around excellent healthcare, but around the people and whānau experiencing it.
To everyone who supported Every Moment Matters, thank you.
You have helped create something that will serve West Auckland patients and families for many years to come, and your generosity will be felt in the moments when it matters most.
