About Heart Place Hospital
Heart Place Hospital was founded by Jacqui O'Connor in 2017. After 28 years as a nurse, Jacqui foresaw a crisis looming for frontline professions, one that would ripple out to affect every citizen. Unable to find the help she needed, she decided to create a solution herself. Today, Heart Place Hospital provides essential support, care, and clinical solutions to many vital citizens, achieving long-lasting results that speak for themselves.
Throughout much of her life and career, Jacqui felt that her femininity—particularly her empathy, intuition, and emotions, was a liability she needed to "fix" to succeed as a medical professional and human being. She didn't realise at the time that these feminine qualities are exactly what a true healer must embody to help another person heal. These traits are also what everyone, men and women alike, needs to balance within themselves to become forces for healing, not only within their professions but also for our culture and planet.
Heart Place Hospital is on a mission to feminize the broken, outdated, patriarchal healthcare system. By embracing and integrating these essential feminine qualities, the hospital seeks to create a more compassionate, integrative approach to healthcare that nurtures the mind, body, and soul of each visitor. This approach ensures that patients receive the comprehensive support they need to heal and thrive, fostering a more balanced and humane healthcare environment for all.
The Impact on Our Front Liners
69% of the community and personal service workers in Australasia experience exhaustion: Even before COVID-19, our frontline heroes were battling extreme fatigue and burnout.
New Zealand GPs Face Unprecedented Emotional Distress: Since the pandemic began, emotional distress among New Zealand GPs has skyrocketed, highlighting an urgent need for mental health support.
90% of Healthcare Professionals Avoid Mental Health Support: Despite their crucial roles, healthcare workers often avoid seeking help due to the stigma, leaving them vulnerable and unsupported.
Female Nurses Have Twice the Suicide Rate: Female nurses are taking their lives at more than twice the rate of the general female population, a stark indicator of the immense pressures they face.
48% of New Zealand Principals Forced to Hire Untrained Teachers: The shortage of trained and qualified staff is so severe that nearly half of New Zealand principals have had to employ untrained or unqualified teachers.
At Heart Place Hospital, we are committed to changing these statistics by providing comprehensive support, advocacy, and care for our frontline professionals. Together, we can make a difference. Join us in supporting those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.
Our Mission - Awakening Possibilities, Empowering Professionals
Heart Place Hospital is igniting a revolution in care, providing tailored clinical solutions, unwavering support, and powerful advocacy for our frontline heroes. We empower health and education providers, ensuring they are resourced, valued, and cared for driving progress toward a sustainable and thriving system. Our mission is to champion long-term support for all citizens through a compassionate, integrative approach that transforms lives and uplifts communities. Join us in creating a future where every caregiver and citizen thrives!
Our Vision: A Future Full of Heart
Heart Place Hospital delivers the essential care that has been missing for too long, the kind that keeps our dedicated carers in their roles, passionate and energised. We provide the crucial advice, support, and tools that frontline heroes need to advocate for themselves, stay rejuvenated, and continue their invaluable work with vitality and joy.
We envision a future where our frontline professionals are respected, cared for, and thriving in their vital roles. A future where the compassionate care they receive ripples out, nurturing a heart-full and thriving nation. Join us in making this vision a reality!
Heart Place Hospital: Living and Breathing Our Values
At Heart Place Hospital, our values are at the heart of everything we do:
Equity: We meet the unique needs of each individual, ensuring everyone achieves the same outcome—a heartful, joyful, and liberated life.
Connection: We connect individuals with the right solutions at the right time, tailored precisely to their needs.
Co-creativity: We collaborate and create bespoke solutions, perfectly designed to meet individual needs.
LOVE: We provide a foundation of safety and security, making love the best medicine.
Trailblazing: We are pioneers, leading the charge to transform chaos into a harmonious future.
Join us on this journey, where every heartbeat matters and every life thrives!
Meet Heart Place Hospital Ambassador
Dame Susan Devoy DNZM CBE
Dame Susan Devoy, is a celebrated New Zealand former squash player and distinguished public servant. Her career in squash was marked by extraordinary achievements, particularly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She clinched the World Open title four times, establishing herself as a dominant force in the sport.
Beyond her athletic accomplishments, Dame Susan has made significant contributions to public service. She served as New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner from 2013 to 2018, advocating for racial equality and social justice. Her leadership and commitment to these values have left a lasting impact on the nation.
Dame Susan's commitment to health and education extends beyond her personal achievements. She has several family members who work and receive support in these fields, further inspiring her dedication to these vital areas. As an ambassador for Heart Place Hospital, she leverages her public profile and extensive experience to support and inspire the community, advocating for better health outcomes and our society to thrive many heart places at a time.
Meet Our Board
Jacqui O'Connor RN - CEO/Founder
Jacqui is a New Zealand Registered Nurse, Pioneering Philanthropist with qualifications in health psychology and Whole Health Medicine from Whole Health Medicine Institute with Lissa Rankin MD, with 28 years of experience supporting women and families and in teen management. Jacqui champions Carers, including our future Carers, to understand their body and mind, to not be ashamed of themselves, to be comfortable with the changes they are going through, and to trust their bodies and minds. These vital individuals are the people who deal with our most vulnerable citizens – our children, the sick, and the elderly.
Dr Kamāia Pere
Kamāia pioneered Our Collective and Float whilst working as a doctor at Northland DHB. She understands the downfalls of the health system and uses innovative approaches to help her clients get to the core of conditions underpinned by stress and trauma. Her vision aligns with the fundamental purpose of Heart Place Hospital - to create a space for healers to heal and come back in their light. She offers a scientific combined with indigenous approach to healing and thriving.
Rob Mokaraka
After a public mental and spiritual breakdown in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2009, it took Rob 7 years to create an educational and healing experience that addresses mental well-being, suicide prevention, and postvention in a dynamic presentation called Shot Bro - Confessions Of A Depressed Bullet. An experience that explores his real-life fight with depression, a bullet, unresolved trauma, and the pathways that illuminate aroha/compassion and hope. Rob is invited to communities and organisations around Australasia to help create safe spaces to address mental well-being and suicide prevention with Aroha & compassion by sharing his story with thriving mechanisms so others don't feel alone and realise they deserve as much help and Aroha as they need, as often as they need.
Mike Lightfoot
Mike is an experienced and award-winning CEO with an extensive international background. He has led companies such as Milmeq Ltd, a global exporter of protein processing equipment, and Buckley Systems Ltd, a high-tech manufacturing business in the nuclear physics field. Mike moved into the supply chain market and was CEO for Nexus Logistics, Conlinxx Ltd, running both companies and the inland ports in South Auckland and Waikato. He joined Ports of Auckland as COO to restructure operations after two fatalities and worked to rebuild the mana within the team.
As CEO of Milmeq, Mike successfully led the company's expansion and was recognised by winning the Supreme Award at the 2015 Westpac Business Excellence Awards Auckland and the 2015 New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Excellence in Innovation award. He also led Buckley Systems Ltd to win the American Chamber of Commerce Exporter of the Year award and the overall Supreme Business award.
Mike has sat on several boards over the years and is currently a director on the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Northland Inc boards.
Donations
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