Forté uniforms head to the Pacific Islands

Forté Health has teamed up with The Rotary NZ World Community Service to send desperately needed items to Pacific Island hospitals.

This container full of supplies is bound for Samoa and includes nurses’ uniforms donated by Forté Health. It’s not the first time Forté has worked alongside Rotary to support our Pacific neighbours. In previous years Forté has donated theatre scrubs, patient gowns and blood pressure monitors to hospitals across Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Gordon Hooper of the Cashmere Rotary Club says uniforms may seem simple but are desperately needed.

“Apart from what we sent years ago, one of the hospitals we’re donating to doesn’t have any uniforms or clothing at all.  This is fantastic, they look brand-new. The staff there will be delighted,” says Hooper.

Forté Nursing Services Manager Angela Ross says getting behind the Rotary project is a no-brainer.

“We’ve been supporting Rotary for a few years now – sending whatever we can to support medical care in the Pacific Islands. Forté has a large focus on sustainability, so seeing items we no longer need get a second life and helping others less fortunate is really important to us.”

Other items in this shipment include desks, chairs, sporting uniforms for schools, hand sanitiser, wheelchairs and an operating table.

Christchurch’s Rotary Clubs have sent almost 30 containers full of supplies to the Pacific Islands over the last seven years, including two sent earlier this year to Fiji.

The uniforms Forté has donated for this latest shipment are all less than five years old and were carefully inspected to be in tip-top condition.

“We really only wanted to send the best uniforms that have lots of life left in them. Other uniforms were recycled into bags to store patient belongings, which fits with our sustainable vision and values,” says Angela.

Image above from left: Gordon Hooper, Bishopdale Rotary Club; Neil Whiting MBE and Paul Biddington, Belfast Kaiapoi Rotary Club; Angela Ross, Nurse Manager Forté Health; Stuart Batty, Cashmere Rotary Club.