New Ambassador for Māia Health Foundation – Tom Latham

23 November 2018

Māia Health Foundation is thrilled to announce New Zealand cricketer and local hero Tom Latham as an Ambassador for Māia.

A born and bred Cantabrian, Tom wants to be part of Māia’s mission to take our health services from good to great, particularly in child health. Tom’s partner Nicole, is an early childhood teacher and he appreciates the difference that enhancements to the children’s facilities will make for families.

Tom has represented New Zealand in all formats of the game and has captained the team in ODI cricket. He is primarily a batsman who has also acted as wicket-keeper. We’ll be right there with Tom at upcoming international cricket fixtures, with the Māia logo proudly displayed on his Kookaburra bat.

Māia is proud to partner with Tom and look forward to what we can achieve together for our community.

About Māia Health Foundation

Māia Health Foundation was launched in May 2016 as a charitable trust to enhance regional health services, and as a charitable pathway for the Canterbury DHB and wider community.

Māia’s fundraising targets are bold and ambitious – helping to take Canterbury’s health services on a transition from good to great with two initial projects for Christchurch Hospital’s new acute services building:

An enhanced future proof rooftop helipad, including a purpose-built clinical support unit so that trauma patients can receive life-saving treatment upon touchdown; and

Enhancements to the children’s health facilities including shared family spaces, a play area, and parent beds in every child’s room.

Christchurch Hospital is New Zealand’s busiest trauma centre and the only major hospital without a helipad on site. Currently it takes 13 minutes, on average, to transfer patients by ambulance to Christchurch Hospital after landing in Hagley Park. A larger helipad and purpose-built rooftop clinical support unit will mean critically unwell patients receive emergency hospital care immediately on touchdown, and a quicker transition to full care for routine transfers. For the Neonatal Unit, it will quicken the pickup and unloading of a neonatal incubator by up to an hour on a round trip.

Initial plans for the Acute Services Building included a rooftop helipad, however funding was allocated at a point when a smaller rooftop helipad was deemed sufficient. With the increased use of the air retrieval services by approximately 40% over the last three years, it became apparent that the region needed a larger helipad to cope with future demands. As funding was not available, Māia Health Foundation committed to raise $2 million by December 2018 to obtain these enhancements.

Māia Health Foundation has $290,000 left to raise for the rooftop helipad, from the original fundraising target of $2 million.

Ends

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