Lana Reed makes dreams come true.
Part of the Pinnacle Tairāwhiti care co-ordinator’s job is to equip individuals with the tools they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
Reed puts her passion into the applications she submits on their behalf to various funding trusts and in six months she has secured nearly $160,000.
The list includes mobility scooters, aluminium doors, a heat pump, a bicycle, an SUV vehicle and a horse float — all bought with grants.
Pinnacle is a not-for-profit primary-care-focused organisation that manages the healthcare of nearly half a million people in regions including Tairāwhiti.
Reed gathers every bit of support she can from general practitioners, suppliers, the patients themselves and others in her Gisborne-based Comprehensive Primary Care interdisciplinary team, which includes clinicians.
“By working together we’re helping to make sure everyone in the community has access to the resources they need to achieve good health and independence.
“Overall, our goal is to help people be independent and self-manage their health conditions. We often work with patients who have been referred by their GP, but sometimes our team identifies a need themselves,” said Lana.
The patients love it.
Josh Grant says the heat pumps installed in his house through Pinnacle’s funding had been “a huge help”.
“Because of my disability, I can’t really regulate my body temperature that well so it really helps create a climate in my room,” Grant said. “When I get cold, I don’t know I am cold until it is too late and I start shivering and it takes a long time to warm my body back up so now I can turn it on and get the room all toasty.”
Grant has transverse myelitis, which is a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord.
“I’ve got my arm movement back, but sensation is limited and I am paralysed from the core and the legs down.”
He said Pinnacle also got him a power assist wheel for his wheelchair and helped him get back into the gym with a personal trainer for recovery and rehabilitation.
Another person helped by Pinnacle was a young girl who was passionate about equestrian activities so Reed got her an SUV and horse float with money from the Lottery Grants Board and now she can take part in horse riding.
Another who now has a mobility scooter said: “I can now get everything done like my bloods, picking up medications and getting groceries instead of waiting for my family to take me. I am now responsible for my health.”
She couldn’t believe it when a large and bright mobility scooter was dropped off at another patient’s place.
“My scooter is fast and easy to use, I can go to town and visit my friends, I can see my GP easier and park the scooter in the office.”
Independence was another common theme with another saying: “My scooter helps me to leave the house and do jobs that I normally have to rely on my daughter for.”
Reed’s work starts every January when she and the team sit down to assess patients’ needs and then start working on funding applications.
“We share information about needs within the team, and we also work in patients’ homes to get a better understanding of their situations.”
As an example, freestyle libre devices — which automatically measure glucose readings — are usually funded by Work and Income for those who are working.
But if not, Reed and the team will go to a trust for funding. Last year, they successfully got money for a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor through a trust.
Mary Anne Gill writes for Pinnacle Midlands Health Network. Additional reporting by James Pocock
