Southern Cross Cements Commitment to Christchurch

News release
27 January 2012

Southern Cross Cements Commitment to Christchurch

Not-for-profit health insurer Southern Cross Health Society has opened a new permanent office in Harewood for its Canterbury-based sales and support staff, as it looks to support local businesses throughout the rebuild and beyond.

The Society’s Oxford Terrace office was closed indefinitely after the February 22nd 2011 earthquake. Since then the team has worked out of temporary premises in Hornby.

Southern Cross Health Society Chief Executive Peter Tynan said a local presence was essential in providing the best possible service to Canterbury businesses long-term.

“Our people understand the issues, and we’ve done our best to provide flexibility for our clients throughout what has been an incredibly challenging year. But we are also very aware that it’s only just the beginning of a long journey for the region.”

Tynan said Southern Cross also wished to thank NZ Post-subsidiary Reachmedia for assisting over the last year by making the temporary office space available in its Hornby property.

There are around 50,000 Southern Cross members in Christchurch. Southern Cross’ Christchurch office provides business customers with a range of products and services that include health insurance, activa health accounts and workplace health and wellness programmes. Working alongside the health insurance sales staff will be case managers for Southern Cross subsidiary Care Advantage, a third party provider for workplace injury management.

The new office sees the Southern Cross Healthcare presence in Christchurch fully restored. Southern Cross Health Society is part of the Southern Cross Healthcare Group, which also includes Southern Cross Hospitals.

In the aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake, Southern Cross Hospital on Bealey Avenue was used as an acute triage centre. Available Southern Cross staff volunteered to assist with surgical assessments and, in some cases, surgery. The hospital was closed for just two weeks and throughout the past year has been able to help the Canterbury DHB meet its elective surgery targets.

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About Southern Cross:
Southern Cross Health Society is part of the wider Southern Cross Healthcare Group, which also includes the Southern Cross Health Trust. The Trust owns Southern Cross Hospitals, Southern Cross Travel Insurance and Southern Cross Primary Care. While the Society and the Trust share a common brand and not-for-profit philosophy, they are separate businesses that operate independently.

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