VANZ News Issue 5
Case Manager Profile:
Sarah Coromandel
Sarah Coromandel, one of eight VANZ Case Managers based in the VANZ Hamilton office, says the thing she likes most about her job is the daily contact she has with veterans. Sarah has about 150 “active” cases and another 250 “non active” cases on her books, and she particularly likes being able to help people enjoy their lives.
“It’s great when we can help veterans stay in their homes by providing them with things like medical alarms, or lawn mowing, gardening and home help services. Without these services some veterans would have to move into care facilities and possibly lose some of their independence.”
Prior to joining VANZ in 2007, Sarah developed a passion for customer service while staffing the superannuation phone line for Work and Income, where she realised people were genuinely appreciative of the service provided. Although she is mostly based at the Waikato office, occasionally Sarah has opportunities to meet veterans face-to-face at Case Management in the Community meetings in places such as Ruatoria, Gisborne and Waihi. Another highlight of working for VANZ was being selected as part of the Kiwi contingent that travelled to Gallipoli for ANZAC commemorations last year. “It was a particularly humbling experience to be part of the New Zealand contingent and to have the opportunity to meet four of my veterans – Len, Ken, Gordon and Stoney. Before then I’d only known them over the phone,” Sarah says.
Enquiries regarding case management should be made to:
Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand
PO Box 5146, Wellington 6145
Phone: 0800 4 veteran