Defibrillator gives peace of mind to Rokeby community
Concerns following a spate of cardiac arrests at community events at Rokeby in recent years have been abated, with Neerim District Community Bank presenting a defibrillator to the Rokeby Hall committee at its monthly market recently.
The Neerim District Community Bank branch was pleased to assist the committee with a donation of a Laerdal Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) in an alarmed storage case which was mounted on the external wall of the hall.
In addition to supplying the AED, the Rokeby Hall committee members were supplied with on-line training in the use of the defibrillator for 10 of its members. St John’s Ambulance Victoria is supplying the training.
Neerim District Financial Services chairman Tim Kubale said the board saw its involvement in supplying defibrillators to community groups as being a big step towards ensuring the wider Neerim District community is protected from preventable deaths in the future by equipping the clubs and community groups with the equipment and training they need.
Since 2012 the Neerim District Community Bank branch has donated 12 AED’s to clubs and community groups and there are now units located in all towns and locations throughout Neerim District.
“Through this program we hope to equip community clubs, so if required, they can administer a defibrillator shock and follow up with CPR until an ambulance arrives,” Mr Kubale said.
“Without a defibrillator close by, the survival rate for cardiac arrest is somewhere between two and five per cent.
“With a defibrillator the rate of survival is around 90 per cent.”
Access to a defibrillator is the most important factor in saving a life following cardiac arrest, but people also need to be trained and prepared to use the equipment and follow up with CPR.
Being able to respond in the minutes that follow a cardiac arrest will ensure the best possible chance of a good outcome.