NZ Herald: The quiet hero who helped shape how we care for each other
As published in The New Zealand Herald, Saturday 4 April 2026
I’m hijacking my fortnightly column this week to talk about one of my heroes, who passed away unexpectedly after a short illness earlier this week. You may have known her too, as Dr Lee Mathias ONZM, a nurse first and foremost, who began her career at Middlemore Hospital, rising to become Principal Nurse and leading one of the country’s largest and busiest clinical teams. It was there she developed her deep commitment to frontline care and health equity.
Birthcare was the focus of her entire PhD — a vision she then brought to life as its founder. She later went on to found Labtests, while continuing to shape healthcare in Aotearoa through many leadership roles and services that have touched so many lives.
For me, she was more than that. She was a beloved friend, a business mentor and a business partner.
Her passing, just ahead of Easter, feels particularly poignant. Easter is a time many of us spend with family — a moment to pause, reflect and reconnect with what matters most. And yet it also reminds us how fragile and unexpected life can be.
Lee’s passing is a sharp reminder to celebrate the people we love while they are here and to recognise the heroes among us not just when they are gone, but in the everyday moments where their impact is felt.
Dr Lee Mathias was one of those rare New Zealanders whose influence quietly but profoundly reshaped the country. Her passing marks the loss of a true leader in healthcare and a woman whose legacy will continue to benefit generations.
Over more than four decades, Lee helped redefine how care is delivered in Aotearoa. She was not just part of the health system — she helped build it. From maternity care to national policy, from governance to innovation, her fingerprints are everywhere.
She is perhaps best known as the founder of Birthcare, a model that transformed maternal healthcare in New Zealand. At a time when childbirth was becoming increasingly clinical and hospital-based, Lee championed a different approach, one that was safe, supportive and centred on women and their whānau. Birthcare set a new benchmark for childbirth in Aotearoa and remains a defining part of her legacy.
But to view Lee only through that lens would be to miss the scale of her contribution.
Through her governance roles, she helped shape the direction of healthcare at a system level. As Chair of Counties Manukau District Health Board and Deputy Chair of Auckland District Health Board, she was a formidable advocate for health equity. She pushed for practical change — not just acknowledging disparities, but working relentlessly to address them. She understood, deeply, that a system that works for some and not for others is one that needs to be challenged.
Her influence extended across organisations including the Health Promotion Agency, Medicines New Zealand and a wide range of public and community entities. In each of these roles, she brought rigour, clarity and courage. She asked the hard questions, held organisations to account and kept patients at the centre of every decision.
What set Lee apart was not just what she built, but how she showed up.
She combined sharp strategic thinking with deep humanity. She was direct and unafraid to challenge, but always grounded in care. She understood that healthcare, at its core, is always about people — and she never lost sight of that, no matter how complex the system became.
That belief carried through to her role as a founding director and investor in Tend Health.
From the beginning, she backed a bold idea — that primary care in New Zealand could be more accessible, more connected and more centred around patients and their needs. She believed in doing things differently, and she backed that belief with her time, her insight and her reputation.
She challenged us to think bigger, to move faster and to hold ourselves to a higher standard. At the same time, she brought a deep sense of care — for patients, for clinicians and for the people building the future of healthcare.
Her influence is woven into Tend in ways that will endure — in our focus on access, in our commitment to equity and in the way we think about the experience of care.
Beyond her formal roles, Lee was a tireless advocate for women in leadership and a mentor to many. She had a remarkable ability to see potential in others, often before they saw it themselves. She backed people, encouraged them to step forward and did so with honesty, generosity and a genuine desire to see others succeed.
And it wasn’t just in boardrooms or formal roles. Each weekend, after my column ran, I would hear from her. Sometimes it was a simple “great article” or a thumbs up. Other times she would tell me what I had missed, what I could have pushed further or where I hadn’t quite gone far enough. I came to look forward to those messages. They were thoughtful, candid and generous and they made me better.
Those who worked alongside her will remember not just her intellect and leadership, but her warmth, her humour and her ability to bring people together. She understood that lasting change requires collaboration, that the best outcomes come when people align around a shared purpose.
In a country that often under-recognises its quiet achievers, Dr Lee Mathias stands out as one of New Zealand’s true heroes.
Not the loudest voice in the room, but always impactful. Not seeking recognition, but deserving of it. A leader whose work is not always visible day to day, but whose influence is felt across the system — in policies, in services and in the experiences of patients and whānau.
New Zealand is a healthier country because of her.
That is not an overstatement. It is simply true.
And perhaps that is what this Easter invites us to reflect on.
Not just the people we love, but the people who have shaped us. The ones who backed us, challenged us and quietly changed the direction of our lives.
Lee was one of those people.
And because of her, this country is better, in ways most of us will never fully see, but benefit from every single day.
