18/08/2026
Plains Rotary Supports Rural Health Academic Centre
The Rotary Club of Ashburton Plains was delighted to make a donation recently to the Rural Health Academic Centre at Ashburton Hospital (RHACA). This donation of $5,298.80 which included proceeds from the Car Rally held in March, enabled the purchase of a digital laryngoscope which will be used in the RHACA training facility. The digital laryngoscope is a hand-held medical tool with a tiny camera and screen. It helps medical teams to see inside a patient’s windpipe clearly, making it easier and safer to insert breathing tubes during emergencies or surgery.
RHACA is a collaboration between the University of Otago, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, Advance Ashburton Community Foundation and the Mackenzie Charitable Foundation. Located within Ashburton Hospital, it is a physical and virtual hub for inter-professional rural health training and research. RHACA focuses on rurally relevant education, research, clinical skills and simulation, and it links a diverse academic faculty across the South Island.
Members of our Club had the pleasure of meeting with RHACA staff and experiencing the simulation suite and training centre. Using lifelike mannequins, a variety of emergency situations can be realistically simulated to provide skills training and courses such as the Rural Interprofessional Simulation Course. As complex emergency situations arise infrequently in a rural hospital like Ashburton, it is critical to the outcome of patients that the medical team is confident and competent in their professional skills. Having the opportunity to practice in the simulation suite means that skill set is maintained and patients receive the highest quality of care. Pitured are members of Plains Rotary learning about the digital laryngoscope.
