Te Puia Hospital was stage to the Mobile Surgical Unit (MSU) on 10 March 2024, creating a fever of excitement, as whānau filed through to inspect the mammoth surgical unit that was stationed at the hospital for two days. The MSU provided vital dental surgery for our whānau tamariki on the Coast and was a welcome visit back after eight long years.  

We were very impressed by our rangatahi “doctors”, Dr Stevie Keenan, Dr Lena Keenan and Dr Te Kōau Bristowe who performed live “surgery” (this was a mock surgery), learning to stitch an open cut on a slab of pork belly!  

Following this visit in March 2024, Lena Keenan took up an amazing opportunity in October of the same year to gain work experience onboard the MSU for a week. Miss Keenan featured in the Gisborne Herald (17 October 2024) talking about her love of caring for whānau and the importance of having local healthcare experts.