Using technology to keep Covid -19 out of Te Hopai - Fundraising Drive
It has become increasingly obvious that the Covid-19virus will not be going anywhere for some considerable time and, along with contact tracing, we need to be extremely careful around the ‘wellness’ of people entering into the facility in order to protect our residents. This includes visitors, contractors, and also our staff.
Whilst we have always tried diligently to keep viruses and bugs (flu, norovirus, vomiting, scabies) out of Te Hopai, you will be aware that from time to time these do slip through our doors. The added seriousness that has come with the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that we have become increasingly conscious of the need for ongoing screening to combat this.
To this end, we have been looking to invest in technology that will support ongoing protection for our residents and have been looking at 2 specific technologies that might be useful. The first is an electronic ‘Lobby Track’ system. This is an electronic sign-in/sign-out system for contract tracing (and of course the ‘normal’ emergency management tracking we have done in the past). The other great thing about such a system is the fact that it will ‘remember’ you making the process much less onerous. The other thing we are looking at is a ‘Thermal Scanner’ which links into our call system. This system checks the external body temperature of people entering into the facility and alerts staff if a person’s temperature is over a specified level.
The intent is to cover the two main doorways on Hospital Road and Owen Street in a way that allows our staff to focus on our core services. We have sought grant funding to cover the cost of this project, but the funding was declined (we did get $15,000 for another resident safety project called “Wander Track” and we are very grateful for that).
The cost for this project is approx. $34,000; $20,000 for the ‘Thermal Imaging’ and $14,000 for the ‘Lobby Track’ system. The Trust Board can fund $10,000 of the cost of this project, but we are looking to fund raise for the rest of the cost. We are looking to do this in two ways:
- Firstly, by collecting direct contributions from people who want to help us with this project by donating money towards it. If you do wish to do this, we would be very grateful for any amount to be donated – little or large. you can donate direct through our Donations Page on our website or directly to the Trust Board account, 06 0513 0101659 00, with an identifier “Screening Project”. Donations will be receipted for tax purposes. Please email accounts@tehopai.co.nz with details and they will process receipts
- The second way is to put together a raffle to fund raise at the door. We have already managed to secure a $200 Bunnings voucher which we will put to this purpose and are looking for donations of high-quality goods to a raffle so that we can make it attractive to people buying tickets. If you can help with this, donations can be given to either Delanie (Hospital Road Reception), Michael (Owen Street Reception) or directly to me.
We very rarely go out to our families/whānau and friends for funding of projects which tells you how important this project is to us.
Please help us if you can.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Pakize Sari
General Manager