Welcome to our May newsletter

Posted Tuesday May 9, 2023

The Audiology South team recently had their annual “Let’s Connect Day”. It is the one day of the year we close the doors and all get together from across Otago, Central Otago and Southland.

It’s a day for staff to bond with each other, share, and learn. This year’s theme was inclusion. As healthcare practitioners, we’re very aware that we work with a diverse population, and when helping people on their hearing journey, we always need to put them first and ensure they feel welcomed and included, and part of our whānau. We’ll be proudly supporting Pink Shirt Day on Friday, 19 May, which aims to create a community where all people feel safe, valued and respected, regardless of ethnicity, gender identity, age, ability, religion or cultural background.

Our Let’s Connect Day was action-packed full of events, including hearing from Sue van Schreven, co-founder and CEO from Orphans Aid International. After her inspiring talk about the charity and its Southland origins, we hit the pavements to join their street appeal.

We raised over $1100 in under an hour of rattling tins around Invercargill in high-vis vests, having a lot of laughs along the way. The company matched the amount we raised, resulting in over $2200 for the charity. These funds are now winging their way to the Ukrainian refugee community in Romania, just in time before other funding runs out. It’s nice to know our efforts are going to the front line where they’ll make a huge difference!

Our team also took part in a makeshift MasterChef competition with previous MasterChef finalist Jaimie Stodler from Queenstown. With a little coaching, Jaimie set us a challenge to copy her beautiful cupcake creations, under time pressure! Naturally, some of the team were more competent than others, but we had a lot of fun, especially at judging time!  

Since the start of 2023, we’ve onboarded three new staff members, including our latest audiology recruits Regina Lien and Hilary Gardner.

Regina is based in Invercargill and splits her week between Te Whatu Ora, Invercargill Hospital, and our Invercargill clinic. We are delighted that she has just passed her clinical competence exam after no doubt a nerve-wracking exam process. Congratulations Regina and welcome to the team.

It’s also great to have Hilary’s experience in the Audiology South team. Hilary “migrated” across Cook Strait to join us after an extensive career working at one of our suppliers and for an independent audiology clinic in Wellington. You will find her at the Queenstown clinic, so come in and see her soon.

Also in this issue we talk about how hearing aids can help you manage tinnitus, and the long-term health risks of recreational noise—particularly for the “headphone generation”.

Don’t miss out on our FREE technology upgrade with Beltone offer, which ends this month. You still have time to book an appointment to try out this amazing technology. Phone today, 0800 547 836, to book a consultation, or book online at https://www.audiologysouth.co.nz/request-an-appointment