Some of the four year olds from rural Patea, Waverley and Ball Road can now jump off a diving board into five metres of water thanks to Plunket-inspired swimming lessons which brought a community together. Similar leaps in self-belief have been seen among Hawke’s Bay’s teenage mothers in terms of their personal care and parenting skills, and both Plunket initiatives have been recognised with 2011 Eyebright Awards.
The Ball Road Taranaki Team, led by Plunket Branch President Debbie Jones, has won the 2011 Eyebright Award for Working Together. And the Young Parents Plunket Team from Hawke’s Bay led by Nicky Skerman, who has a Masters degree in Nursing, has won the 2011 Eyebright Award for Innovation.
Both awards were presented by the Prime Minister at the Beehive at 3.15pm on Tuesday 27th September. The Eyebright Awards are in their 8th year. They celebrate the work of exceptional Plunket teams and are sponsored by Huggies and Wattie’s.
With 85 drowning deaths among under-fives recorded by Water Safety New Zealand in the decade to December 2010, 31 in home pools, Plunket supports all measures which help keep children safe in and around water.
The Eyebright Award winning Ball Road and District branch of Plunket set up their own $1 lessons with a qualified instructor in a local indoor heated pool. In year one 92 children took part in the 13 week course. In year two 75 children and this year 76 children have taken part.
Taranaki Team with Prime Minister John Key
Nicky Skerman, leader of the Eyebright Award winning Young Parents Team, highlights that New Zealand has the third highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the OECD. She took learnings from her thesis¹, and with funding from the Vodafone Foundation, gathered a small team of people together to run a pilot programme which has improved parenting and health outcomes significantly for teenage mothers in Hawke’s Bay.
Hawke’s Bay Team with Prime Minister John Key
The programme responds to the most resounding conclusion of Nicky Skerman’s research - that teenage mothers look for support from someone they know and trust. So Plunket’s pilot scheme sees relationships between teenage mothers and their Plunket Nurse forming early in Hawke’s Bay - before the baby is born.
The pilot is being formally evaluated by EIT and the results are due out in March 2012. Nicky Skerman says: “The results in our community speak volumes. My dream is to get this funded all over the country.”
Plunket’s CEO Jenny Prince congratulates the teams who have won the Eyebright Awards in 2011. “For our work to be truly effective we must make sure it is relevant to the families that live in that area. I am proud our two winners both show innovation and flexibility in delivering programmes that support two very different communities in ways that provide practical help while also strengthening community relationships.”
The annual Eyebright Awards were established in 2003 by Wattie’s and Huggies to celebrate Plunket’s care for New Zealand families. Each year they are judged by a panel which includes experts from the Maori Health, Operations and Quality & Development teams from Plunket’s National Office.
