This Christmas the Herald is again featuring charities which have been selected for a $10,000 donation from Auckland Airport. Eleven charities have been chosen and the 12th donation will go to the families of the Pike River 29. The $120,000 came from change given by travellers at the airport this year.
A specialised medical mannequin - complete with a heartbeat - will be purchased to help staff at Middlemore Hospital and the community.
The South Auckland Health Foundation is one of 12 charities to be gifted $10,000 from the Auckland Airport 12 Days of Christmas giveaway this year.
The money will go towards purchasing a $10,000 medical mannequin for the Clinical Training and Education Centre, based at Middlemore Hospital.
Team leader for the resuscitating education department Tracey Cooper said receiving the grant was a great opportunity for not only hospital staff but also the wider community.
Mrs Cooper said the hospital already had a number of medical mannequins being used for training, however there were limits as to what they could do.
Referring to the mannequin as "Annie", she said the special features would make for better training.
"She's portable. I can put her in a box and take her out to schools and out into the community so she can be utilised back in the hospital as well as in the community."
The new mannequin will be used for CPR training and various other procedures, such as taking blood samples and making injections.
Unlike cheaper models, it will also have a skill reporter, which provides real-time feedback as to whether the person making an injection, for example, is doing it correctly.
"It's fully kitted out," Mrs Cooper said.
"That's why we're so excited. We can use her to simulate car crashes, we can make her throw up so there's vomit on the floor, she can give a heart rhythm - everything."
Mrs Cooper said having such a medical tool was essential to not only teaching nurses and staff certain procedures, as well as university medical students, but also enhancing the skills of hospital staff.
South Auckland Health Foundation executive director Pam Tregonning - who put through the application to Auckland Airport - said the team was grateful for the grant, which has ultimately bought them Annie the mannequin.
"It's just fantastic that they've given us this grant," Mrs Tregonning said.
It's a wonderful Christmas [gift]."
