Nicholson Auto’s community work with Pohlen Hospital

Pohlen Hospital is a small, rural charity hospital, located in the heart of Matamata that has been caring for the local community for over 50 years now.

We’ve taken a closer look at the work they do, as well as their recent collaboration with our team here at Nicholson Auto.

Giving the rural community access to high quality care

Pohlen Hospital’s model gives the rural community access to a one stop shop where they can meet all their healthcare needs. It means that locals can stay close to loved ones and friends, rather than travelling to Auckland alone when they need treatment.

They offer facilities for long term aged care residents, primary birthing and a wide range of other services from GP visits to midwifery.

Pohlen hospital operate on a not-for-profit model, with the goal of continuing to maintain a sustainable service that can meet the needs of the community. Pohlen does this through two separate arms – the hospital itself and by fundraising for specific projects and equipment.

The team at the hospital, led by general manager Suzanne Lawes, run an incredible facility, providing high quality care with limited resources. Nicholson Auto and the Matamata community are lucky to have such a caring organisation on our doorstep.

Nicholson Auto’s work with Pohlen Hospital

When Pohlen Hospital approached the team at Nicholson Auto about sponsoring a car for them in late 2017, we jumped at the opportunity. We decided to provide Pohlen Hospital with a new car to use every six months, including signwriting of their choice.

This new car has made it easy for Pohlen’s General Manager to get to meetings and functions around the Waikato. Staff have also used it to go to education sessions together, rather than taking several separate cars, while midwives have used it to get to rural clinics and visit clients at home. The hospital has even used the car to help patients without access to transport to get to appointments and home again afterwards. Staff say the car has boosted morale as they love being able to get from A to B in a comfortable new vehicle. General manager, Suzanne reckons the signwriting has already helped to boost the hospital’s profile in the community.

We caught up with Suzanne recently to find out more about the impact the new signwritten cars have had on her and the hospital, and we were stoked to hear how much of an impact it’s made in such a short time:

“I cried when I saw the first car, it made me so proud to drive around in the car that represented how I feel about the care we deliver – first class. The car had such beautiful graphics, and the staff and residents were talking about it for weeks after. The second car, we decided to use to advertise our wonderful maternity services and again the team came up trumps – the midwives love driving it to clinic and out and about. I cannot thank [Nicholson] enough for picking us to sponsor as a charity of choice.”

The Nicholson Auto team would like to thank Pohlen Hospital for all the incredible work they do here in the Matamata community. We look forward to helping you get around for many years to come!

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