Partnership between PNG Angels and medi for help: “Our support is making a difference!”
medi for help wants to give people without access to medical care new hope and improve their living conditions in the long term. The non-profit aid organisation of the medical device manufacturer medi works globally with various partner organisations – one of which is the charity PNG Angels. medi for help supports this organisation with product donations, such as the Spinomed back orthosis from medi. This year, patients were once again able to receive medical aids. A patient example provides some insight.
Once a year, the charity PNG Angels sends highly qualified medical teams from Australia to Papua New Guinea to perform complex neurosurgical procedures on patients without access to medical care. PNG Angels also trains local staff in neurosurgical training and further education in order to build sustainable local capacity. This includes the fitting of medi products, which medi for help provides as donations.
Patient care with Spinomed back orthoses from medi
To illustrate the positive change that these collaborations enable for patients in need, PNG Angels has provided a patient example: Following a fall in 2021, patient Milton McMahon suffers from hyperkyphosis, a backward curvature of the spine, as well as a broken thoracic vertebra. After an X-ray examination immediately following the fall, he was examined for the first time in 2024 by the doctors of PNG Angels, who recommended an orthosis to improve his posture and stability and to support the healing of his fracture. During his second visit this year, the experts fitted him with a Spinomed back orthosis from medi.
Positive feedback from patient Milton McMahon on the Spinomed back orthosis
“My first impression of the back orthosis is really positive and I am very grateful to medi for help for this helpful support,” says Milton McMahon, describing his first thoughts after putting on the Spinomed back orthosis. At the end of this year, he will return to the clinic for another examination and to have the orthosis checked.
Sustainable assistance for self-help: Training of local staff
PNG Angels trained the local staff – in the spirit of helping them to help themselves – so that they can fit the back orthosis to patients independently in future. This means that they are not dependent on the annual visit from PNG Angels. The patient also received tips on how to put on and take off the orthosis correctly, as well as information on how and for how long to wear it.
Hand in hand with the intention of medi for help
“PNG Angels enables life-saving operations through the voluntary work of highly qualified teams and also provides important medical equipment. The intention behind all of this – namely to help people without access to medical care and give them a better quality of life – goes hand in hand with the mission of medi for help. In addition, just like PNG Angels, we also attach great importance to empowering people to help themselves in order to enable holistic and, above all, long-term care. It is particularly gratifying to see that our support is making a difference, as in the case of patient Milton MacMahon, who had been waiting a long time for further treatment. Through our cooperation with PNG Angels, we are enabling precisely these people in need to receive the care they require – for a better quality of life,” says Daniela Weihermüller, Managing Director of medi for help.
About the Spinomed back orthosis from medi
Spinomed is a back orthosis that actively helps to strengthen the core muscles, thereby relieving and correcting the lumbar and thoracic spine in the sagittal plane (the plane in which the spine moves in the direction of flexion and uprighting). It is suitable for use in cases of vertebral fractures of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, among other things. The Spinomed back orthosis works on the principle of biofeedback: the strap system, in conjunction with the back splint, exerts noticeable tensile forces on the pelvis and shoulders. In the event of poor posture, gentle pressure reminds patients to adopt an upright posture and intuitively activates the muscles in the torso area. This allows the upper body to straighten up again under its own power.
Intended use: Spinomed® is an orthosis for active relief and correction of the lumbar spine/thoracic spine in the sagittal plane.
All pictures: © PNG Angels