Riana Manuel
Riana Manuel (born 1972/1973) is a New Zealand nurse, healthcare manager and chief executive of the Māori Health Authority which came into being in July 2022 and was disestablished in 2024.
Manuel is of Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Kahungunu descent.[1][2] She grew up in Manaia, Coromandel the daughter of a nurse and an ambulance driver; her brother is a doctor.[3] Her mother set up a rest home and small hospital in Coromandel.[4] As a teenager she went to a Māori boarding school where only the Māori language was spoken (known as full immersion).[4]
Manuel is a registered nurse and has based her career in community and Māori healthcare.[3] She was nurse director at Waikato District Health Board[4] and chief executive officer of Hauraki Primary Health Organisation and Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki, a rural iwi based health provider in the Hauraki area.[4][5] While Te Korowai services have a Māori focus only about half of its patients were Māori, and its approach achieved better outcomes for all patients.[4]
In December 2021 she was appointed chief executive of the interim Māori Health Authority.[2][6] Her aim was to ensure that people in both rural and urban areas have services appropriate to their communities, rather than applying a universal approach to healthcare.[4] The Authority was disestablished by the government in 2024.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Bale, Peter (7 March 2022). "Riana Manuel – on the frontline of Māori health in NZ". businessdesk.co.nz. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Leaders of future health agencies appointed – Kua tohua ngā kaiārahi o ngā hinonga hauora". The Beehive. 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ a b Manhire, Toby (11 March 2022). "The women in charge of rebuilding New Zealand's health system". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Rachel (1 April 2022). "How a town of 200 people shaped the new Māori Health Authority boss". Stuff. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ Yeoman, Scott (20 December 2021). "Hauraki health leader named as chief executive of new Māori Health Authority". Stuff. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "Riana Manuel to lead Māori Health Authority". Māori Television. 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ Isaac Davison (29 February 2024). "Emotions run high as Māori Health Authority scrapped in urgent debate". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- Riana Manuel, Chief Executive of the Interim Māori Health Authority. Interview with Manuel on Waatea News, 21 December 2021
- Māori Health Authority CEO Riana Manuel on RNZ, 26 March 2022