Pillows and beds for healthcare workers

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers continue to put their lives on the line to help in South Africa’s response efforts. Many are exhausted, and the stresses of the pandemic mean that getting a good night’s rest is even more challenging. Restonic SA, a proudly South African bedding business, has donated high-quality latex chip pillows and beds valued at R60 000 in total to 300 frontline healthcare workers at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital to help them get better sleep. The donation includes 300 high-quality latex chip pillows, 20 memory foam pillows, three queen-size beds valued at R6000 each, and four single beds valued at R3000 each.

Violet Ramalapa, Acting Nursing Services Manager, thanks the company, saying, “As health workers we feel appreciated that our hard work is being recognised. Working extended hours is exhausting, but we took an oath to put people first and we shall stand by it through all circumstances. Recognition from organisations such as Restonic really go a long way in giving us a boost when days are dark to carry on with the work that we do.”

Dale Harley, Restonic SA Executive for Sales & Marketing, says the company salutes the dedication of the Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital team and wanted to honour their hard work. “We are inspired by the frontline healthcare workers who continue to champion the greater good in South Africa during these challenging times. Because we believe that getting good rest is the best fuel you can get for your body and mind, we wanted to do what we can to support these amazing people with high-quality memory foam pillows, which we believe can make a massive difference in their quality of sleep. We also made three queen-size beds available and all the 300 people’s names were put in a hat and three winners picked out. We’ve decided to donate another four single beds valued at R3 000 each and will be delivering these once the lucky winners have been drawn.”

The winners of the three Queen-size Marvelous Middle Restonic Bazaruto base sets are Thembi Mnguni, Mamoabi Elizabeth Mohlekoa and Dineo Langa. Their beds will be delivered by Restonic to their homes in the next few days, and all three are extremely excited to receive them.

Ramalapa is quick to highlight the importance of sleep. “We can never underscore what a good night’s sleep does for an individual’s performance and energy levels the next day,” she says. “It helps a person to be relaxed and be prepared for the following day, and be able to tackle the most challenging of tasks.”

Restonic worked with the hospital’s Communications Manager, Noko Pela, to arrange a handover of the 300 pillows, which were unloaded from the Restonic truck on 31 March 2021, much to the joy of the healthcare workers who were on hand to receive them.

“It’s always such fun to be at these events and to be a part of bringing a little joy into people’s lives says Harley. “We handed over 300 pillows at Chris Baragwanath Academic Hospital last month, and we honestly hope that the pillows we’ve distributed to 600 healthcare workers to date are giving them sweet dreams. Getting better sleep will not only help them to take better care of themselves, but also to keep taking great care of those who need it.”

Ramalapa encouraged other community members to support nurses and other frontline healthcare workers, noting that they are always open to suggestions and love to hear compliments where good work has been done.