Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
50 seconds ago
EIT has marked a significant milestone in its recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle with the opening of a state-of-the-art nursing suite designed to help prepare Hawke’s Bay’s future healthcare workforce.
The original nursing building was destroyed when floodwaters and mud swept through the Taradale campus during Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.
Today, staff – including some who helped shovel mud, clean buildings, salvage equipment and pack up the nursing resources that could be saved – students, members of the Hawke’s Bay health community and supporters gathered at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale on Thursday (September 3) to celebrate and tour Te Kahikatea – Clinical Simulation Suite.
EIT Chief Executive Lucy Laitinen says Te Kahikatea represents more than the replacement of facilities lost in Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Formally opening a space that wasn’t simply replaced but rebuilt for the future, is a special moment.”
The name Te Kahikatea comes from Aotearoa’s tallest native tree, whose interconnected roots create strength and stability.
“That’s the real meaning of Te Kahikatea. It isn’t the tallest tree in the forest because it stands alone, it grows tall because its roots are tangled with everyone else’s, holding each other up. That’s this place. That’s this community.”
Lucy says the new facility will play an important role in preparing nurses for the realities of modern healthcare.
“Te Kahikatea replicates a real healthcare environment. As educators, the onus is on us to prepare nurses with the competencies to go out into challenging and complex environments and to also to be able to advocate for themselves, their profession, and for the people in their care. So Te Kahikatea matters.”
The purpose-built facility includes a simulation suite and hospital ward, nurse clinic and additional learning spaces where nursing ākonga are developing and refining their clinical skills in settings that closely reflect real practice.
Located in the refurbished Bruce Martin building, the suite was blessed in June ahead of Semester Two and is already being used by nursing students.
A new window mural by artist Chris Bryant-Toi, outside was blessed on Wednesday morning ahead of the official opening. Adding colour to the suite, it celebrates mātauranga and the development of nursing and health sciences at EIT, weaving together pūrākau and the contributions of figures including Ākenehi Hei, Dr Susan Jacobs, Sir Mason Durie, Dr Irihapeti Ramsden and Professor David Tipene-Leach.
Acting Head of the School of Nursing Katie Rongonui said staff had left the campus, with the pending cyclone, expecting to be away for only a day or two.
“The devastation that happened was completely unexpected,” Katie said.
“Many of our staff were dealing with their own personal situations, but people were still prioritising the nursing programmes and doing everything they could to ensure our students could continue.”
Nursing kaimahi Sharon Stuart, Amanda McFarlane and Linda Shaw were among those who experienced the disruption caused by the cyclone and the successive moves between temporary teaching spaces.
Linda recalled the difficult conditions those staff who were able to return to the campus faced during the clean-up.
“It was really dark and incredibly hot. We were here every day for weeks, shovelling and cleaning. It was physically hard work,” Linda said.
“We wanted to save and preserve what we could.”
Teaching initially moved online before a temporary nursing facility was established in a house made available by Hastings Health Centre. The school later moved into EIT’s F Block, which was adapted to provide more space for nursing education.
Despite the disruption and the personal challenges faced by staff and students, the nursing programmes continued with minimal delays.
Katie said the opening of Te Kahikatea had also brought the School of Nursing back together after its staff and teaching facilities were dispersed following the cyclone.
It had also reunited Nursing staff with their Health and Sport Science colleagues, who had previously shared the Susan Jacobs Building.
“Before the cyclone, the School of Nursing was together in one space. Following the cyclone, we lost that and became quite separated,” she said.
“Now we are back together, and that is something we are really pleased about.”
The rebuild provided an opportunity to future-proof nursing education at EIT, with nursing staff involved throughout the design process.
Te Kahikatea incorporates high-fidelity simulation technology alongside realistic ward, clinic, nurse clinics and bathroom environments. It also includes dedicated simulation and control rooms and an area where students can practise their skills independently.
Dedicated clinical educators are based in the suite to provide specialised simulation and practical teaching.
Katie said the facility had already attracted interest from other nursing education providers around New Zealand.
“It reflects a modern healthcare environment and provides additional learning spaces we didn’t have before,” she said.
“It gives students the opportunity to develop their practical skills and confidence in a realistic environment before they enter the workforce.”
Amanda said seeing the new facility completed was emotional for those who had experienced the cyclone and its aftermath. “It is a testament to EIT’s resilience, but also to EIT’s dedication to training our future nursing workforce,” she said.
“Students now have a state-of-the-art facility where they can learn practical skills and gain confidence before going out into our communities.”
Final-year Bachelor of Nursing student Kya Joe began her degree following the cyclone and undertook much of her practical learning in temporary facilities.
She said Te Kahikatea felt like a real hospital from the moment she first walked through it.
“There’s new technology and new simulation labs. When I walked through there for the first time, I thought, ‘This feels like a real hospital’,” Kya said.
“It feels like you can put your practice into play more realistically than before. I’m incredibly jealous of the first and second-year students who get to work in there.”
EIT delivers undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programmes, including master’s degrees, with close to 400 students enrolled each year and about 100 graduating annually.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/08/eit-nursing-suite-opening-marks-recovery-milestone/