Trustees
Dr Mairi Stewart Wallace
Dr Michael Kalkoff
Ms Shelley Solomon
Ms Christina Kusser
Dr Mairi Stewart Wallace – Gynaecologist
Mairi is a gynaecologist with a sub-specialist interest in urogynaecology.
Mairi graduated with MBChB from Stellenbosch University in South Africa in 1989 and MMed (O&G) in 1999. She received her FCOG (SA) in 2000. She has worked all over the world, including Scotland, northern KwaZulu-Natal, on the South Africa Mozambican border and voluntary work in Sierra Leone. Mairi received her Part 1, MRCOG in Edinburg before returning to South Africa to complete her specialist training.
Mairi has been living in New Zealand since 2003. She spent 12 years at National Women’s Hospital in Auckland. Besides doing Obstetrics and Gynaecology she was also a member of the Urogynaecology team. Prior to this she worked in Paarl, South Africa, as the lead Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in a rural secondary hospital. In 2015 Mairi moved to Northland where she works exclusively in private practice, giving her more time to be involved with projects in the Pacific.
Together with other members of PSRH (Pacific Society for Reproductive Health) she has been involved in and run numerous suturing workshops for midwives and doctors. Ever since 2011 Mairi has made an annual trip to the Cook Islands to help women suffering from incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Recently she and two other members of the team – Shelley Solomon, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, and Tina Kusser, Registered Nurse, plus Michael Kalkoff, Anaesthetist – have formed the Putiputi Charitable Trust. The aim of the trust is to continue to help women in The Pacific, and hopefully in time Northland.
Dr Michael Kalkoff – Anaesthetist
Micael is a German-trained anaesthetist who graduated from the University of Freiburg in 1995. He completed his specialist training in Switzerland at both the Kantonsspital St. Gallen and the Inselspital University Hospital in Bern. In 2002, he was awarded the Swiss Specialist Title in Anaesthesiology (FMH) and obtained the European Diploma in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care.
Michael undertook his Fellowship in Hamilton, New Zealand, where he worked in both the Intensive Care Unit and the Department of Anaesthesia. During his time at Waikato Hospital, he conducted research on cytokine expression in sepsis in collaboration with the Molecular Genetics Laboratory at the University of Waikato, resulting in several published papers.
In 2005, he accepted a consultant position as a Senior Medical Officer (SMO) in the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Whangarei Hospital, where he served as Head of the Intensive Care Unit from 2007 to 2013.
Since 2013, Michael has worked regularly with the Mobile Surgical Unit of Mobile Health, and since 2017, he has also practiced at Kensington Private Hospital. For Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau (The NZ Ministry of Health, Northland) he has played a key role in establishing and maintaining the acute telehealth service for the Northland region.
To further support anaesthetic services in the Pacific Islands, he became a member of the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA) Global Health Committee. The committee focuses on coordinating overseas aid and outreach projects, particularly in lower-middle-income countries across the South Pacific.
He joined our team in 2018. His role includes providing anaesthetic services and general support to the Anaesthetic Department during specialist health visits to the Cook Islands, with plans to expand this support to other Pacific nations in the future.
Shelley Solomon – Physiotherapist
Shelley has over 20 years of pelvic health physiotherapy experience. She has worked in both New Zealand and in London. Shelley sees women, men and children in all areas of pelvic health. She is also a Lymphoedema Therapist. Shelley is the current secretary of the Pelvic, Women’s and Men’s Health Special Interest Group of Physiotherapy New Zealand. She is involved at a national level with topics involving pelvic health physiotherapy and presents regularly at conferences and meetings. Shelley also delivers training for physiotherapists and health professionals throughout New Zealand in the area of pelvic health. Shelley is a passionate pelvic health physiotherapist. Shelley was has been involved with helping the women of the Cook Islands since 2017.
Tina Kusser – Registered Nurse
Tina is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Urology with over a decade of experience, having begun her experience in Urology in Switzerland at the University Hospital in Zurich in 2011, with a focus on Urodynamics.
She is currently undertaking a postgraduate course in Continence Management at the University of Otago.
She holds postgraduate certificates in both Urodynamics and Radiology. After locating to New Zealand, she worked with Northland Urology and the District Health Board. Since 2022, she has been employed at Western Hills Clinic. She received training from Dr Mairi Wallace in vaginal pessary care and the insertion of oestrogen implants. Tina joined the team in 2023.
Putiputi Charitable Trust 