New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 17 September 2019

The 2019 NZNO Award of Honour was presented tonight to Porirua-based Pacific Nurse Sipaia Kupa at the NZNO Awards Dinner in Wellington.

The Award of Honour is given to an NZNO member who (among many other criteria) has made a noteworthy contribution to the work of NZNO and has had a positive impact on nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ms Kupa is a New Zealand-trained registered nurse of Tokelau, Cook Island and Tuvalu descent. She has worked mostly in Wellington at Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) and amongst the Pacific community. Her roles have included being a lecturer on the Bachelor of Nursing Pacific programme at Whitireia; Psychogeriatric speciality nursing, and working as a duly authorised officer with the Mental Health Crisis Resolution Service.  She currently works as a Senior Systems Development Manager for Pacific Peoples at CCDHB and, since 2015, has contracted to the Nursing Council as a Professional Development assessor.

She has been an active member of NZNO’s Pacific Nursing Section and her nominators say her passion for progressing the profile of Pacific nursing is evident in her numerous involvements at a leadership or governance level in various community-based organisations outside her regular work.

Sipaia says she is thankful to the Pacific Nurses Section for her nomination and to NZNO for the award.  She regards this as an honour and wishes to pay tribute to her family and the great teachers she has had who have supported her work and service to Pacific and non-Pacific communities.

The 2019 NZNO Award of Honour is a prestigious award conferred by NZNO every second year. Recipients are given honorary membership of NZNO and a gold badge of recognition. They are also given a trophy which they hold for two years. It is then returned for the next recipient. A person can only receive the NZNO Award of Honour once.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.