Public primary schools across Mount Alexander and Central Goldfields shires have been fitted with defibrillators thanks to the Maldon and District Community Bank.
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More than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur every year in Australia with less than 10 per cent of these cases surviving to leave hospital.
Community Bank Maldon and District branch manager Adam Balzan said the alarming statistics and the time to defibrillation being a key factor in the survival rate made the delivery of automatic external defibrillators in the schools a necessity.
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"We had noticed we were receiving more applications through our partnership program so realised there was a real gap and need in the community for more defibs," he said.
For every minute defibrillation is delayed, there is an approximate 10 per cent reduction in survival if the patient is in cardiac arrest due to shockable rhythms and CPR alone cannot save a person in these instances.
CHIRP Community Health nurse Bronwyn Grieve worked closely with the community bank throughout the project and has been on a mission to ensure defibrillators are accessible across the region.
Ms Grieve is also working with Ambulance Victoria to map all the defibrillators in Mount Alexander Shire.
"The announcement from the Community Bank to fund one for so many local schools just blew me away," she said.
"These items are expensive so thanks to everyone who banks with Community Bank Maldon and District for making this happen."
The defibrillators are installed in public 24 hours access areas and will be registered with Ambulance Victoria.
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