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So, what do we need for today?
NARRATOR: Around a decade ago,
a Samoan nurse became so concerned about waiting times for patients,
she began providing her own mobile care.
People were travelling from far
and waited till midday or maybe one o'clock
and they're still not seen,
and...I think that something needed to be done.
Simealai Tavana is the founder of Tavana Nurse on Wheels,
known as TNOW.
MAN: There aren't any aged care homes, for example,
so the Samoan culture is that they care for their elderly
and they care for them in the home and in the village environment.
We won't need that one. I think that's all.
A team of three nurses travels house to house
dispensing hospital-standard care.
(SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE) How are you?
(REPLIES) Yeah? Oh, good.
No worries? No worries.
No worries. That's good.
So, we're just gonna check
your blood pressure and sugar again today.
Sound alright?
There is a charge for the service,
but payment can come in a variety of forms.
(SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE)
I think that's part of the culture in Samoa,
if they don't have money to pay the service.
We've been coming to this lady for the last six years
and sometimes she give us 10, 20 tala as a gift,
and today, she showed her appreciation
of our being here together
to give us those food.
(WOMEN LAUGH) Not much room, hey?
Assistance for the service has come
via the Australian Government's volunteer program.
(CALLS OUT) We'll meet again.
Anita Dunn was in search of adventure, a life experience
and an opportunity to expand her horizons.
An AYAD is an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development.
Usually... You've got to be under 30,
and usually, it's getting skilled young Australians
to go overseas into developing countries and...
All these kind of care that I'm doing is Anita's specialties.
She's palliative nurse. She's also oncology nurse.
It's not just the elderly on the client list of this outreach clinic.
Sorry, bubba. I'm just gonna hurt you a little bit, alright?
(CRIES)
I think we did, like, 400 immunisation last year.
From what I understand,
due to, sort of, poor rural health and low immunisation,
there's been a bit more of a high infant death rate, I think.
So immunisation is something
that I know AusAID's trying to really promote.
Like many Pacific island countries,
the greatest health issue in Samoa is type 2 diabetes.
Has your sugar been OK? Yes.
We'll see how it is, hey?
Three sisters in this one household are being treated.
Lifestyle is seen as the main contributing factor.
Definitely the Westernised diet - I think that's part of the problem.
Lots of saturated animal fats.
There's lots of fried foods, lots of imported cans of corned beef
and Asian noodles and things like that.
OK, just rest your arm a little. Yeah, that's it.
A single house call can often lead
to treatment for a large extended family.
Yeah, often, we do a lot of families together.
Usually, they live in close together houses
around the main house, sort of thing.
So usually they come out when we do a visit
and everyone gets a check -
blood sugar, blood pressure and that sort of thing.
This fisherman had a headache, saw the nurses and decided to drop in.
Well, you might have a little bit of flu,
but take a couple of Panadol and lie down.
Plenty water.
Yeah, it's very common.
If they see the nurse on wheels,
they generally, you know, can get a bit of advice
and a bit of a check while they're here.
So, yeah, lots of people come out of the woodwork
when we rock up in our red truck.
One of the visits Anita looks forward to is this lady.
Do a little circle if you like.
Very slowly.
She has high blood pressure, diabetes and scoliosis,
seriously affecting her mobility.
Oh, you're doing great!
As a retired teacher,
she delights in providing Samoan lessons for the Australian nurse.
(ANITA SPEAKS SAMOAN SLOWLY)
But she's a lovely lady. She's quite a character.
And every time I go, she makes me laugh. She's so cute.
So, she's been trying to improve my Samoan since I've been here,
which is pitiful.
Speaking Samoan for Anita and her husband
is part of embracing the Samoan way of life.
(CONGREGATION SINGS HYMN)
In perhaps the world's most Christian country,
Sunday is both a day of worship and family feasting.
I don't usually go to church at home,
but I'm just trying to embrace the culture, and it's nice to go,
and I think it's sort of respectful if you sort of join in
and, yeah, have a look at their culture and at their religion
and join in the Sunday festivities.
It's actually quite fun in the afternoons when church has finished
and you can sit down with everyone, have a chat and have a meal.
Alright. I'll try a bit of meat.
The meal is the traditional 'umu', an all-day event.
A pig is roasted on the coals from early morning
with fish, taro and tropical fruits.
The Samoan experience could bring a change in Anita's career direction.
Yeah, I think I'd like to get into community nursing
if I...when I get home.
It's something that's... you know, it's quite nice.
It's better than the, sort of... regimented, you know, shift work
that we do in a hospital.
You know, you've got a lot more freedom,
you get to have a good chat, and it's nice.
As for the future of the Tavana Nurse on Wheels service,
the boss would like to expand to Samoa's other islands.
SIMEALAI TAVANA: So, why not?
It's part of my service plan.
Extend to Savai'i, maybe American Samoa one day,
when I do have the resource people.