About Total Healthcare PHO
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Auckland’s Total Healthcare PHO contracts the delivery of health services serving 230,000 patients in the Counties Manukau, Auckland and Waitematā district health board areas.
It has nearly 80,000 Pasifika patients, including 53,000 in the Counties Manukau area making it the largest primary health provider to Pasifika in South Auckland.
Total Healthcare contracts Tāmaki Health as its management support organisation, and Tāmaki Health contracts medical providers to deliver the services required in the PHO/District Health Board (DHB) contracts. The providers include Local Doctors and White Cross.
As well as receiving regular medical care, when patients enrol with one of the PHO’s clinics, they are also able to access additional services that are free or at reduced cost where the patient is eligible.
Proactive board truly representative of community
Total Healthcare has charitable status, and is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The PHO Board, chaired by William Ropata (Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga iwi, Ngati Hui ki Katihiku hapu), has strong community and consumer representation and works in partnership with communities to improve the health of all, with emphasis on Māori and Pasifika, and other communities with health disparities. See the full list of board members.
Experienced management team
Total Healthcare PHO is run by CEO Mark Vella and general manager Kate Moodabe. They are supported by an independent accountancy company and a communications agency.
For other management and support services, Total Healthcare contracts Tāmaki Health in its capacity as a Management Support Organisation (MSO).
This lean approach means more of its flexible funding can be invested in health services to patients.
Mark Vella, CEO
Mark began his career as a primary school teacher, later moving into special education working with children with disabilities and eventually working his way up to the national office of the then Special Education Service.
He has experience in a variety of senior government and commercial roles such as National Contracts Manager – Special Education Service (Ministry of Education) and later as a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Education.
In the early 2000s, Mark moved into health as a project manager, and later a Senior Manager, for ProCare Health, where he established community and mental health, as well as having responsibility for the PHO’s commercial initiatives. Mark joined Total Healthcare as its CEO in 2008.
Kate Moodabe, General Manager
Kate began her career in health as a pharmacist before moving into a role as pharmacist facilitator for PHOs. This involved analysing and advising general practice on prescribing patterns, developing best practice guidelines and answering drug-related queries.
Kate was the South Auckland CEO for ProCare for three years, in which time she negotiated successfully for marae-based health services to be introduced in rural Auckland. She also assisted with the development of electronic decision support in her role as CIO.
Kate moved to work with Tāmaki Health and Total Healthcare in 2011 in a relationship and integration role and is now General Manager for Total Healthcare. Her passion is improving preventative health at a population level and exploring innovative methods of healthcare delivery.
Our values
He aha te kai ō te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he korero
What is the food of the leader, it is knowledge, it is communication
At the core of how we operate are our values of connectedness (whanaungatanga kotahitanga), self-determination (mana, rangatiratanga) and empathy & compassion (manaakitanga). Our values are what drive us towards the goals of embracing diversity, striving for equity and working towards wellness.
Busy addressing social determinants of health
Total Healthcare addresses the broader determinants of health – not only physical and psychological but also social. Projects include Total Healthcare’s programme for vulnerable young mothers and its continuing support of Gandhi Nivas to help families experiencing family harm.
Find out more about the groundbreaking work of Gandhi Nivas:
Total Healthcare has achieved significant recognition from the Ministry of Health, the National Health Board and the DHBs as an organisation that embraces new opportunities and maintains a strong focus on improving access to high-quality health services for high needs patient populations.
The PHO is proud to have committed $5 million of funding over five years to support mental wellness for its provider’s patients. Our clinics in Glen Innes and Dawson Rd (Flat Bush) have been sites for the trial of a new integrated primary care wellbeing programme.
On 8 September 2019, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Health David Clark made an announcement at the Dawson Rd clinic that the Government would provide funding for clinics that have been trialling this new model of care.
Total Healthcare also established and funds a vulnerable mums service called Mana 4 Mums, provided by Local Doctors. It gives additional support to young expectant mothers who are Māori or Pasifika, under 22 years old and live in South Auckland. Find out more about our maternity support services.
Watch a video on our Mana 4 Mums maternity support service:
A lifetime of devotion
Tāmaki Health, our MSO, was founded by Dr Kantilal Patel and Ranjna Patel who share our vision for breaking barriers to improve health. Find out more about Dr Patel and his drive to put the needs of patients first:
Read more about our work: Total Healthcare Business Plan 2021/2022