BOORT is now one of 20 official Heart Safe Communities in Victoria thanks to a program that has upskilled the community to save the life of someone having a cardiac arrest.
Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedic community support co-ordinator (PCSC) Loddon senior team manager Josh King said over the past two years, the Heart Safe community program in Boort has been vital in building community resilience and improving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates for people living and working in the area.
“The expansion of the Heart Safe Community state-wide program, a joint initiative between AV and the Heart Foundation, built the confidence and kills in local communities to step in and provide life-saving assistance if someone is in cardiac arrest,” Mr King said.
“The program aimed to raise community awareness of cardiac arrest, promote the role of Triple Zero in a cardiac emergency, teach people cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED), identify and register existing defibrillators, install and register new defibrillators and promote and educate on the use of smart phone technologies, like the GoodSAM (Smartphone Activated Medic) App.”
A cardiac arrest can happen when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating and stops pumping blood effectively around the body, and it is something that can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. An AED is used to deliver a shock to help restore normal heart rhythm following a cardiac arrest.
“While bystanders alone will never replace an ambulance service, equipping people with skills to start the chain of survival – starting chest compressions or CPR and using an AED – does save lives,” Mr King said.
Thanks to the Heart Safe Communities program, four new public AEDs have been registered in Boort over the last two years.
“Anyone can use an AED, regardless of whether they have received training to do so,” Mr King said.
“If someone is in cardiac arrest and an AED is available, simply open it and follow the verbal instructions. They are safe and easy to use and will not deliver a shock unless it is necessary.”
Mr King also urges all local residents to register with GoodSAM, which connect Victorians in cardiac arrest with responders and defibrillators in the critical minutes before paramedics arrive. Responders only receive an alert of they are close to the person in cardiac arrest, and a given their address along with the location of the nearest defibrillator.
“Anyone can save a life by going to heartstarter.com.au and signing up as a GoodSAM Responder today,” Mr King said.
“You don’t have to have experience or a medical background, you just have to be willing and able to do hands-on CPR, be over 18 years of age and have access to a smartphone.”
For more information on the Heart Safe Community program, visit the Ambulance Victoria website and search Heart Safe Communities.
