Preventative health care was vitally important to help whānau avoid getting so sick they needed hospital care, Nicholas said.
And providing access to quality health care was part of iwi's responsibility under its partnership with the crown, he said.
Nicholas envisioned the future medical centre offering complementary health services like dentistry, podiatry, physiotherapy, and oral health care, alongside Whānau Ora services.
While the nuts and bolts of the partnership, including the shareholder agreement, needed to be worked out, Nicholas said the practice could be up and running within a month – although WellSouth has indicated that finding staff was a challenge.