Bay of Islands Physiotherapy Donation

Posted on: 28/02/22

In 2021 the Physiotherapy Department at Bay of Islands Hospital received an extremely generous donation of $50,000, via Health Fund PLUS, from a lovely Northland couple. Health Fund PLUS allows people to make donations and gifts to our Northland hospitals or services for the “optional extras” that are so important to patients and their families.

The donor was an earlier participant in our Better Breathing Programme at Bay of Islands Hospital. The couple were very concerned about the lack of gym equipment to rehabilitate people in the Mid North and felt the Mid North community deserved decent exercise equipment. This donation will improve the quality of the rehabilitation available in the Mid North, not only for this group of people but for everyone that needs our help.

The Better Breathing programme is designed for people in our community who suffer from many different types of lung disease. During the seven-week programme, people attend twice a week for a progressive exercise programme and education to improve their knowledge about healthy habits, quitting smoking, nutrition, medication, pacing of activities, stress and anxiety tools, and breathing management.

The donation has not only helped create a gym for the breathing management group of patients, but also for the rest of our patients who need rehabilitation but do not have access to gym equipment. It has also enabled the Physiotherapy Department to add an inpatient gym so, if patients are needing further rehabilitation while on the General ward, a space and equipment is now available. We’ve been able to update telehealth technology to support our patients at home and can supply breathing devices that are not normally available through the DHB. In future the gym will also be available to staff after hours to encourage healthy habits.

To date, this donation has enabled us to purchase commercial grade exercise equipment – a treadmill, upright and recumbent bikes, a dual cable weight machine, Pilates reformer, boxing bag and gloves, portable exercise pedals, mirrors, and parallel bars. We’ve also been able to buy inspiratory muscle trainers (think of weights for your diaphragm), and other respiratory devices that we are not normally able to offer patients. We’ve also been able to purchase a new large screen and computer to enable telehealth exercise sessions in the future, and we still have some of the donation left over.

We are forever grateful for this most amazing gift . The ongoing positive impact on our community is priceless. Our good fortune has continued in the form of a second donation from another lovely couple in the Mid North. These donors asked that their donation be used to create professional videos of the Better Breathing exercises, so people have the opportunity to continue the exercises at home after they have completed their course with us. Thank you to our generous donors!

By Nateele Howarth (Team Leader Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and CARS, Bay of Islands Hospital)

Forging brighter futures
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Bay of Islands Physiotherapy Donation

Posted on: 28/02/22

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