Ruth Gerzon reflects on Whakaari’s aftermath, highlighting resilience, community connection, and Adele Ferguson’s research insights.

I have long been interested in the disaster response after the Whakaari 2019 eruption. There was an extraordinary level of care from our first responders and local hospital and the manaakitanga of Ngāti Awa, who opened the Mātaatua marae to whānau, providing sustenance and supporting their emotional and spiritual needs.

This made me eager to interview critical care nurse and PhD candidate, Adele Ferguson, who will give a public talk on Tuesday, May 12.

Her research sheds light on how the hospital not only coped but adapted in remarkable ways. The stories she collected offer fresh insight into what makes healthcare systems resilient in times of crisis.

The scale and severity of the disaster placed extraordinary pressure on Whakatāne Hospital. Designed to care for just one critically ill “status-one” patient at a time, the hospital suddenly faced the urgent need to treat 30.

Adele has spent the past six years examining the hospital’s response through a systems lens. Rather than focusing solely on individual resilience, her work explores how relationships, culture, and shared values enabled staff to meet overwhelming demand.

Kotahitanga – unity – was woven through all aspects of the response. There were strong interpersonal connections within the hospital and the wider community. As a small town, Whakatāne benefited from these existing relationships that enabled rapid coordination and trust. Connection, shared identity, and collective responsibility played a crucial role in both the immediate response and longer-term healing.

Her work is grounded in qualitative interviews with hospital staff who were there on the day, capturing their experiences in their own words. These stories form a key part of her upcoming presentation, reflecting her original motivation: to ensure those voices are heard.

The stories that Adele gathered show how staff came together in ways that defied traditional hospital hierarchies. Many arrived unprompted, responding instinctively to the unfolding emergency.

Roles blurred as doctors, nurses, and support staff worked side by side, asking for and offering help freely regardless of seniority or specialty.

“It wasn’t about titles or departments,” Adele’s research suggests. “It was about people stepping in where they were needed.”

The nature of the injuries added another layer of complexity. Unlike other mass casualty events, such as the Christchurch mosque attacks, the Whakaari eruption resulted in severe burns requiring intensive, sustained care.

This demanded not only clinical expertise but also emotional endurance from staff and whānau alike.

Adele’s research also draws attention to the importance of wairua – spiritual wellbeing – in healthcare settings. She found that tikanga practices and storytelling, or pūrākau, helped restore a sense of meaning and connection among staff in the aftermath of the trauma.

Adele brings a wealth of experience to her research. With a background in cardiac and intensive care nursing, she trained in Rotorua and has whakapapa links to Ngāpuhi. She has spent a decade as a nurse educator at Whakatāne Hospital, working closely with the Māori health team, Pou Kōkiri.

Alongside her research, she continues to practice nursing – an experience that informs her perspective on patient care, particularly at the end of life. She advocates strongly for the inclusion of whānau in care, noting that their presence during critical moments, including resuscitation, supports both understanding and healing.

Her work has already gained international attention, with presentations in Norway and several published articles. Yet she says there is still a gap in global research when it comes to understanding how healthcare systems adapt collectively under pressure.

As she approaches the final stages of her PhD, Adele hopes her findings will contribute to better disaster preparedness – not just in New Zealand, but worldwide.

Her message is clear: resilience in healthcare is not just about resources or protocols. It is about people, connection, and the strength that comes from standing together.

Adele will be a speaker at a symposium on Sudden and Unexpected Deaths - Community Response and Care on May 12 at 10am to 1.30pm at Liberty Church, 65 Wairaka Road, Whakatāne.

All welcome - do join us there.

• Ruth Gerzon, co-chair of Ngā Pou Herenga; the end-of-life and funeral guides collective