Kayda Adams has come full circle – from supporting a friend at Braemar Hospital and being highly impressed by the nursing staff to now winning a Braemar Charitable Trust scholarship for nursing studies.
Kayda was just 17 when she helped support a friend through shoulder surgery at Braemar Hospital. “While I waited, I observed the nurses and healthcare assistants around me. They provided person-centred and holistic care that left a deep impression on me.”
Fast-forward a few years and Kayda (Ngāti Maniapoto) who is from Te Kuiti, is in her second year of a Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Waikato. She’s the first in her whānau to go to university and has just won a $10,000 scholarship from Braemar Charitable Trust.
The Trust works to advance healthcare equity and access and improve health outcomes in our community. It is the 100% owner of Braemar Hospital, one of New Zealand’s largest private hospitals.
The Trust has a range of charitable activities it funds, including free community surgeries, scholarships, health sector capability building and medical research, all underpinned by an equity and access lens. In particular, it funds three $10,000 scholarships each year for University of Waikato students, two in the Bachelor of Nursing programme and one in the Bachelor of Health.
Kayda says winning the scholarship is a huge weight off her shoulders as she has been working part-time and often full-time to raise funds for study, travel and placement costs. “I’m really passionate about gaining experience in rural hospitals but that often means travelling up to two hours each way.”
Kayda has previously worked and volunteered in rest homes in Ōtorohanga and Hamilton before applying for the Bachelor of Nursing degree. “That experience opened my eyes to the under-representation of Māori and Pasifika peoples in healthcare and it hit me hard – I realised I wanted to make a bigger impact.”
Once graduated, she’s keen to give back to her community through work and volunteering. “I want to use my skills to make a positive difference both locally and professionally and I want to inspire others – especially those from small towns or under-represented backgrounds to chase their goals and believe in their worth.”
Braemar Charitable Trust Manager Paula Baker says students such as Kayda will be a vital part of New Zealand’s future and changing healthcare needs. “We have five pillars in our charitable purpose and one of those focuses on contributing to the health workforce. Like Kayda, we are committed to making a difference, so we look forward to working with her.
As part of the scholarship, Kayda also gets to work at Braemar Hospital in a placement, something she is looking forward to. “Having completed my district nursing placement in Te Kuiti, where I gained a lot of valuable experience with wounds, including surgical wounds, I’m eager to deepen my understanding further. Seeing first-hand how surgeries are performed and the care involved will help me connect theory to practice and enhance my nursing skills.”
Braemar Charitable Trust is becoming increasingly well known for delivering dozens of free surgeries each year, including nearly 160 in the past financial year, with the help of surgeons and anaesthetists who are credentialed to work at Braemar Hospital and who donate their time. Across two Community Surgery Days in November 2024, dozens of clinical and non-clinical staff gave their time to help out.
The Trust has also made it simple for anyone to donate to its work via an online donations portal where donors can choose to fund a specific procedure for someone or make donations towards a scholarship or general fund, or research. To find out more, sign up here for news and updates
ENDS
Media inquiries – not for publication. For more information contact:
Paula Baker MNZM
Trust Manager, Braemar Charitable Trust
027 224 2316
