The power of place
Putting people and culture at the centre of community care
Waikato-based K’aute Pasifika Trust is supporting Pacific people and underserved groups by offering a holistic suite of social services delivered under Pacific models of care, driven by a mission to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for its communities.
To make this vision a reality, K’aute embarked on a transformative journey, compelled by a purpose to uplift, educate and empower. In the heart of Hamilton, the organisation has become a central pillar of its community, bridging gaps, fostering connections and deepening its impact.
From the beginning, K’aute Pasifika Trust recognised the profound need for culturally appropriate health and social services to improve Pacific engagement in mainstream healthcare systems. But first, K’aute needed to define its starting point – the point from which it would build out every one of its offerings and touchpoints to execute its strategy and vision. Bringing together experts from across Deloitte in collaboration with K’aute leaders, the Trust now has a holistic model of care in place, the finance functions to support the model, the people and teams required to deliver its vision and the technologies and platforms to ensure it can function effectively.
At the outset of the project, Deloitte Private partner, Doug Wilson, supported a series of workshops to enable the Trust to define, build and implement new models of care to best serve its community in a holistic way.
The K'aute Pasifika community hub is a first of its kind in Aotearoa. It includes an early learning centre, a community fale, a health and wellbeing centre, and K’aute’s head office, serving around 21,000 Pasifika people.
A community hub was required to serve as K’aute’s HQ, offering not just medical care but broader support encompassing education, wellbeing, housing, and employment. The challenge lay in finding a site that would be not only suitable but financially sound as well. With K’aute already having developed high level plans and rough order of cost estimates, a more detailed analysis of the options was required to support K’aute’s decision-making process. Brad Sherman from Deloitte’s financial modelling team was on hand to do just this. The site of the former Hamilton Bowling Club was identified, and Deloitte further refined its modelling and prepared a financial feasibility study to facilitate K’aute’s discussions with stakeholders, such as council and funders. Today, the K’aute Pasifika Village proudly stands as a significant new landmark in Frankton, directly opposite the iconic FMG Waikato Stadium. The hub is a first of its kind in Aotearoa, and includes an early learning centre, a community fale, a health and wellbeing centre, and K’aute’s head office, serving around 21,000 Pasifika people.
The K’aute Pasifika Village gave the Trust a base to work from. Next, the organisation identified a need to improve its financial resilience. As a charitable trust, it was dependent on government funding and grants. But recognising the importance of diversifying its income streams to ensure its long-term success, the trust identified an opportunity to acquire the Hamilton East Medical Centre, a well-established primary care practice delivering consistent financial returns. Deloitte partner, Muhammad Cajee, supported K’aute through the process which also saw K’aute collaborate with Pinnacle Incorporated, a primary healthcare operator and network of practices managing the healthcare of nearly half a million people. Muhammad’s team supported K’aute through the lifecycle of this milestone transaction, including valuation work to test pricing and funding assumptions, drafting the offer letter, financial due diligence, negotiations with the sellers, and acting as the connector between K’aute and Pinnacle’s interests.
Now, with the acquisition complete, K’aute has a more consistent financial stream and can leverage Pinnacle’s extensive experience in primary care while serving and empowering its community, becoming a more meaningful and recognisable player in the health space, with an opportunity to empower Māori and Pasifika doctors through the practice.
As the number of services K’aute offers has expanded, the organisation has identified the need to integrate these services under one holistic wellbeing model umbrella supported by technology and data insights. That’s where Laura Hillas from Deloitte’s systems delivery and modernisation team comes in. Laura was on hand to support and guide K’aute through this transition, ensuring continuous momentum and progress towards the implementation of the model and helping the organisation to provide a seamless integrated service to those it serves.
Looking ahead, K’aute Pasifika Trust is poised to build on this momentum. Its vision for the future is bold - a thriving, self-sufficient community hub that serves as a model for others to follow. With continued focus on collaborative innovation and community-driven solutions, the trust aims to expand its services, deepen its impact, and inspire broader societal change.
