HOSPICE TARANAKI
WHEN JOYCE OAKES, HOSPICE TARANAKI COMMUNITY NURSE, NEEDED A NEW CAR TO DO HER 'ROUNDS', THE LION FOUNDATION WERE HAPPY TO HELP.
In an average working day, community nurses like Joyce Oakes can clock up a fair few kilometres. That's because many of the Hospice's terminally ill patients live in outlying areas and understandably, most of them want to stay at home. To Joyce, it's all in a day's work. "There is certainly a sad side," she tells us, "but it can be very rewarding work. We've got a great team and we try to have a laugh occasionally." Equally tough was stretching the Hospice's resources to fund a much-needed new car for the nurses. As Joyce says, "An extra car means that between us we can now visit up to 80 patients a week, sometimes two or three times a day". So when the Hospice applied for a grant, The Lion Foundation was happy to help. That way, Joyce can keep going about her essential 'rounds'.
