Eastern Bay Edition - September 2018
Pooch brings Joy
Every weekend Joy Sunich and her precious pooch
Bella can be spotted popping into rest homes in and
around Whakatāne, a Canine Friend to residents.
Joy has been working in the health sector for more
than 30 years.Initially she trained as a nurse and
spent the fi rst part of her career working at
Middlemore Hospital.
For the past 16 years she’s been working at Whakatāne
Hospital as the Medical Staff Administrator.
Aff ectionately known to many staff as ‘Mama Joy’
she supports doctors; senior clinicians, locums and the
fresh faced newbies navigating their way through the
health system.
It’s fair to say, Joy is one of those people who likes
helping others. For many years she volunteered at the
RSPCA. Until her own health issues meant she could
no longer keep it up. That’s when she got the idea of
signing up to Canine Friends with her much loved
pooch Bella.
“With Bella in tow, I went with a friend to visit her dad
who has dementia. His face lit up when he saw her, it
was priceless.”
Joy, who has eased back on her working hours this
year, says she thought becoming a Canine Friend
was something she can do now in her spare time and
moreso when she retires.
Canine Friends Pet Therapy is a New Zealand-wide
network of people who share their friendly well
behaved dogs with other people - patients in hospitals
and residents in rest homes and hospices.
Health research in New Zealand and overseas
shows the health of many people improves through
interaction with visiting animals. Many people benefi t
from the natural aff ection that most dogs have for
humans especially the elderly and unwell.
Like the other Canine Friends, Bella and Joy had to be
screened to see if they were suitable for the role. The
duo passed and so started weekend trips to local rest
homes in the Eastern Bay.
“We only spend about an hour at a time with residents
and it’s only with those who want to see Bella.”
Ohope Beach Care Diversional Therapist Melissa
Foulkes says, “Bella and Joy really brighten up the day
of many of our residents.”
She says a lot of the residents at Ohope Beach Care are
former farmers who’ve worked with animals and had
pets all their lives.
Joy & Bella
It’s a huge adjustment moving to residential care and
giving up pets is part of that as well. Joy says so far it’s been well worth taking the time.
“Bella loves it. She can sit quietly with someone or
have them pat her continuously. She seems to know
just what people need.”
Bella is currently the only Canine Friend visiting rest
homes in the Eastern Bay. To fi nd out more visit www.caninefriends.org.nz
Better dental care for rural communities
until 9 November and then move to Te Kura Kaupapa
Motuhake o Tawhiuau until the end of November.
“Absolute Dental operate four practices in Tokoroa,
Rotorua, Ngongotaha and Kawerau, so when approached
to consider a mobile dental service in Murupara, it was
a logical step. Absolute Dental have been specialising
in delivering services to smaller towns with higher
populations of Māori and other ethnicities for more
than 20 years. The benefi ts of good oral health impact
the person’s whole well-being and dentistry needs to be
aff ordable for all to access. The impact of poor oral
health can have a huge eff ect on someone’s health and
self-esteem or confi dence,” says Shash Patel.
Local people will be familiar with the mobile dental
unit concept, with the BOPDHB mobile dental units
parked up at the school providing free dental care
for children 12 and under.
Te Kohatu Winitana was the fi rst teenager to have his teeth
checked by Shash Patel.
A new dental service has been launched making it easier
for teenagers and adults to look after their teeth in the
rural community of Murupara.
Starting this week the mobile dental unit is parked
at Murupara Area School with dentist Shash Patel
from Rotorua’s Absolute Dental on board seeing local
teenagers and adults. The mobile unit will remain there
“What we were seeing was a real drop off in those
children having their teeth checked as they grew
into teenagers, as that’s when they are transferred to
community dentists for free basic dental care. The
closest dentist is in either in Rotorua or Whakatāne,
about an hour’s drive away,” says BOPDHB
Community Health 4 Kids Regional Manager
Martin Steinmann.
Martin estimates about 120 teenagers have been
missing out on free dental care in Murupara
and surrounding areas, most likely due to the
inconvenience associated with the distance to travel,
plus parents needing to take up to three hours off
work for the appointment and round-trip .
“With Absolute Dental and fi nancial support from Ngāti
Manawa iwi plus the usual funding avenues available for
adults through BOPDHB and Work and Income, we’re
able to provide low cost dental care for adults in the
community as well.
“It costs a lot less to provide dental care in the community
closer to where people live and before the condition
of their teeth deteriorates to the point where they need
hospital treatment,” says Martin.
On Monday representatives from the BOPDHB, Ministry
of Social Development and Absolute Dental gathered
with Ngāti Manawa iwi, and the local community at
Murupara Area School to offi cially open the new service.