Porirua Asthma Service - Celebrating 25 Years of Service

This month, we proudly celebrate 25 years of the Porirua Asthma Service – a kaupapa built on commitment, community, and care for our whānau.

Established in August 2000, the service began as a joint venture between Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira (TROTR) and WIPA (now Tū Ora Compass Health) and now proudly sits fully under the Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira (TROTR) mantle. But its roots go even deeper, beginning in the 1990s through a nurse-led clinic led by Charlene Williams and Aunty Rihia Kenny, whose vision and hard mahi laid the foundation for respiratory health services in Porirua.

Since then, the service has grown into a nationally recognised leader in asthma care, developing resources, bilingual asthma plans, paediatric guidelines, and innovative community initiatives such as:

• Pillow exchange programmes

• Asthma holiday programmes & swimming lessons

• Winter clothing drives

• PSYLO – Porirua Sing Your Lungs Out

We acknowledge our kaumatua who have passed and those who were integral to the history of the service. Today, we are privileged to be represented by a highly skilled and committed team:

Claire Richards (Nurse Educator)
Anne Couper (Nurse Educator)
Moana Gargiulo (Nurse Prescriber)

Their expertise, compassion, and dedication continue the proud legacy of the Porirua Asthma Service, still grounded in community, still dedicated to equity, and still driven by aroha for our people.

As we reflect on 25 years of impact, innovation, and advocacy, we look ahead to a future where respiratory health is equitable, accessible, and grounded in tikanga Māori.

He taonga te hauora – health is our treasure. Here’s to the next 25 years.