Howden and APM NZ transcript

Joel: Howden Care’s been in operations since 2022. We were founded to look at the way that case management is done for our accredited employers, and the New Zealand market needed better injury management, looking at the whole person and how injuries affect those people, reduce injuries and try and get people back to work faster. Knowing that there are gaps in that service, that we really want to focus on making sure everyone is treated equally and has a good opportunity to return to being their best selves. It was important for Howden Care to start off strong and have the right supports in place to make sure that we improve health outcomes for Maori and people in general.

Cleo: Hi my name is Cleo Hotereni. I descend from the Maori tribes of Rangitane o Manawatu. My role at APM is the role of Te Pou Ururoa - the National Manager of Maori and Diversity. So these conversations started three years ago and it began with their leadership team. We discussed why focusing on the cultural safety and the wellbeing of Maori was important. And when we're working with all Indigenous communities we have to make sure that we are also understanding what it means for them culturally. Maori experience poorer health outcomes and are more likely to die seven years earlier than the general population. Their cultural health and wellbeing is directly tied to the health outcomes they experience. We were able to design a program that met the needs of the Howden team to ensure that they were able to deliver culturally safe services.

Candice: It's been amazing, actually. So it's given me a lot of confidence and awareness of how to give a bit of service to my client. I feel really empowered. I feel a lot more confident. It's made me step back and look at how I am as a case manager and how I approach each client now. I think of it from more of a holistic point of view.

Joel: For Howden Care, it's really important to look at the whole person when we're trying to support them back from injury. So utilising as much cultural training as possible is highly important to us because every person's different. Every person has different values, whether that's in that’s in Te Reo Maori (The Maori language) or the Pacific community or individually based. If somebody's injured and not getting back to work, there's multiple reasons for that other than just that they've got an injured body part.

Cleo: They've just been so engaged in the learning, and it's about making the whole experience really Mana enhancing (empowering).

Candice: I mean, Cleo is incredible you know, it can be quite scary when learning a new kind of concept and language, as such. She's just created such a safe environment. She's really brought us all together, and also makes it interesting and relevant, always linking it back to what's the relevance to our role? How can we improve for our clients? How can we give a better service? I think she's done that really, really well.

Joel: APM is a very important provider to us in terms of rehabilitation management across the country. So we have a very strong relationship. The training has been a really good starting off point to continue to build from, and the case managers have really valued the training and input from Cleo and are using that in their day-to-day work.

Cleo: I'm really fortunate to be in a position where I'm able to help impart some cultural knowledge and cultural safety so that the whole system of how we support Maori can be improved, so that our next generation don't experience those same outcomes.