Debbie Swain-Rewi in Glenorchy. After living in this beautiful part of the world for nearly three decades I still stop in my tracks some days, in awe of the stunningly beautiful landscape.
I love this mahi! It’s diverse, challenging and extremely rewarding. I get to work with some wonderful people, sharing their stop smoking journey, individually, at workplaces and in cafes and homes – It’s such a privilege.
I thought I would take you on an extraordinary Wednesday, a passenger in my trusty Honda Jazz, uphill and down dale in a variety of settings:
Car packed heading to Glenorchy for the weekly clinic, gone by 8.30am (vital, to get to Cookie Time to pick up my morning's hydration needs – A hot chocolate and two Americanos $1 each between 8am – 9am).
First stop is to visit a client in her home, at beautiful Bob’s Cove, a successful quit, but struggling. It’s a short visit as she isn’t happy. Kai te pai, this is her journey and I am a guest - She’ll be fine next week.
I pass a worksite that I worked with over winter, three staff enrolled, all quit – Awesome!
Glenorchy is picture perfect. It’s a great little clinic room and the locals pop in. Someone comes for gum, another for a chat and advice and there are a couple of phone calls. I restock my suitcase, and prepare my client bags, complete with information brochures, referral and enrolment forms etc, ready to take out for new clients.
Leaving Glenorchy I turn into Blanket Bay – Breath taking views of mountains and lake from this exclusive resort, where I have been a regular visitor all year working with eight Triple Star (Construction company) employees, and three subbies on a new development, and two Blanket Bay employees. Eight have successfully quit, two have relapsed, but are back on track and one just likes seeing me! A lot of banter, good humour, and support for each other.
Next stop is Fernhill to drop some information into a letter box of a guy I had enrolled the night before at the Frankton McDonalds, and to the base station of the gondola to drop some product for a Kiwi Haka employee - Another successful quit! For a few months in Autumn I made a weekly trip up the gondola while I was supporting three Skyline employees – Two successfully quit. No complaints from me getting a Birdseye view across the basin on a weekly basis for about three months!
On to Wakatipu High School to see three international students during their last period (two Chinese and one French). There is a lot of translating and sign language going on. School holidays now so we’ll see how they are after two weeks away from rules and the stop smoking coach.
A bit of down time for an hour, grab a late lunch and walk the dog, before returning to town to meet a couple of lads at a café, at 5pm. They are one week into their programme - one has been smoke free the entire week, while the other has cut right down and needed some help to tweak what and how to use his NRT – both are excited about their progress WOOP WOOP!
Normally that would be it for the day, possibly another catch up somewhere on the way home - Maybe the boy at BP, or someone quickly at maccas, but as I said at the start this was an EXTRAordinary day. I was heading over the hill (also known as the Crown Range) to Wanaka to enrol a new person, and see a lady two weeks into her journey who needed some support and product. Made for a long day, but I was rewarded with some amazing scenes, especially as the sun set on the Southern Alps - lucky me !! Enjoy my pics!
To finish, I would like to acknowledge the support Triple Star Management have given their staff. They were quick to come on board offering workplace smoking cessation for staff. I have presented at five different work sites, and worked with staff at three, gathering along the way those who smoked at the other two when they have moved sites. In total I have worked with twelve staff, mostly using NRT, but also supporting two using champix. We’ve discussed electronic cigarettes, vaping, relapses and celebrated successes with afternoon tea treats. There have been eight successful quits, and one has relapsed but is now back on track. Of the four who haven’t quit, two have greatly reduced, and I’m sure one will succeed!
Everyone is a winner when workplaces support these programmes. Triple Star is a large construction company, and now only four staff smoke. Collectively, they are a healthier workforce, and great role models for other workplaces, to their whanau, especially their tamariki, while site productivity and bottom line business profits will be greater as healthier staff take less time off work on sick leave, non-smokers are more engaged and not always seeking an opportunity to light up, and injuries heal faster!
Love the mahi, supporting people to change their lives.
I love this mahi! It’s diverse, challenging and extremely rewarding. I get to work with some wonderful people, sharing their stop smoking journey, individually, at workplaces and in cafes and homes – It’s such a privilege.
I thought I would take you on an extraordinary Wednesday, a passenger in my trusty Honda Jazz, uphill and down dale in a variety of settings:
Car packed heading to Glenorchy for the weekly clinic, gone by 8.30am (vital, to get to Cookie Time to pick up my morning's hydration needs – A hot chocolate and two Americanos $1 each between 8am – 9am).
First stop is to visit a client in her home, at beautiful Bob’s Cove, a successful quit, but struggling. It’s a short visit as she isn’t happy. Kai te pai, this is her journey and I am a guest - She’ll be fine next week.
I pass a worksite that I worked with over winter, three staff enrolled, all quit – Awesome!
Glenorchy is picture perfect. It’s a great little clinic room and the locals pop in. Someone comes for gum, another for a chat and advice and there are a couple of phone calls. I restock my suitcase, and prepare my client bags, complete with information brochures, referral and enrolment forms etc, ready to take out for new clients.
Leaving Glenorchy I turn into Blanket Bay – Breath taking views of mountains and lake from this exclusive resort, where I have been a regular visitor all year working with eight Triple Star (Construction company) employees, and three subbies on a new development, and two Blanket Bay employees. Eight have successfully quit, two have relapsed, but are back on track and one just likes seeing me! A lot of banter, good humour, and support for each other.
Next stop is Fernhill to drop some information into a letter box of a guy I had enrolled the night before at the Frankton McDonalds, and to the base station of the gondola to drop some product for a Kiwi Haka employee - Another successful quit! For a few months in Autumn I made a weekly trip up the gondola while I was supporting three Skyline employees – Two successfully quit. No complaints from me getting a Birdseye view across the basin on a weekly basis for about three months!
On to Wakatipu High School to see three international students during their last period (two Chinese and one French). There is a lot of translating and sign language going on. School holidays now so we’ll see how they are after two weeks away from rules and the stop smoking coach.
A bit of down time for an hour, grab a late lunch and walk the dog, before returning to town to meet a couple of lads at a café, at 5pm. They are one week into their programme - one has been smoke free the entire week, while the other has cut right down and needed some help to tweak what and how to use his NRT – both are excited about their progress WOOP WOOP!
Normally that would be it for the day, possibly another catch up somewhere on the way home - Maybe the boy at BP, or someone quickly at maccas, but as I said at the start this was an EXTRAordinary day. I was heading over the hill (also known as the Crown Range) to Wanaka to enrol a new person, and see a lady two weeks into her journey who needed some support and product. Made for a long day, but I was rewarded with some amazing scenes, especially as the sun set on the Southern Alps - lucky me !! Enjoy my pics!
To finish, I would like to acknowledge the support Triple Star Management have given their staff. They were quick to come on board offering workplace smoking cessation for staff. I have presented at five different work sites, and worked with staff at three, gathering along the way those who smoked at the other two when they have moved sites. In total I have worked with twelve staff, mostly using NRT, but also supporting two using champix. We’ve discussed electronic cigarettes, vaping, relapses and celebrated successes with afternoon tea treats. There have been eight successful quits, and one has relapsed but is now back on track. Of the four who haven’t quit, two have greatly reduced, and I’m sure one will succeed!
Everyone is a winner when workplaces support these programmes. Triple Star is a large construction company, and now only four staff smoke. Collectively, they are a healthier workforce, and great role models for other workplaces, to their whanau, especially their tamariki, while site productivity and bottom line business profits will be greater as healthier staff take less time off work on sick leave, non-smokers are more engaged and not always seeking an opportunity to light up, and injuries heal faster!
Love the mahi, supporting people to change their lives.
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