Girgarre Memorial Hall president Dennis Hammond collected the AED on behalf of the committee and had it installed on the external wall of the public toilets behind the hall on Morgan Cres.
“It will be handy to have it there, and the fact that it’s available 24/7 is great for the community,” Mr Hammond said.
“I know that some people can fear doing CPR, but this machine talks you through it.
“In an emergency, you just need to call an ambulance (000), don’t panic and the defibrillator will tell you what to do.
“Hopefully, we never have to use it, but if we do, it’s there.”
Mr Hammond hopes to run a course for the community to learn how to use the defibrillator.
Ambulance Victoria donated the life-saving device to Girgarre following last year’s Heart Safe Community Program’s success in Stanhope.
A joint initiative between Ambulance Victoria and the Heart Foundation, The Heart Safe Community initiative aims to improve survival rates for people suffering from cardiac arrest across Victoria by teaching community members how to perform CPR and use an AED when needed.
Ambulance Victoria paramedic and Stanhope Heart Safe Community co-ordinator Anita Stirling presented the AED.
“We know that performing CPR and using an AED greatly improves someone’s chance of survival in the event of a cardiac arrest,” she said.
“We’re excited that this defibrillator will now be accessible to the Girgarre community 24/7 in case it is ever needed.
“We had a really successful Heart Safe Communities program run in the area last year.”
Over 150 people were trained in life-saving CPR as part of the Heart Safe Community program in Stanhope and Girgarre.
Girgarre was identified as a suitable location for a 24/7 accessible AED, with Stanhope welcoming five public AEDs during the 12-month program, three of which are available 24/7.
Currently, about 20 Victorians suffer a cardiac arrest each day, with only one in 10 surviving, with bystander CPR and the use of an AED increasing a patient’s chance of survival by more than 70 per cent.
Ambulance Victoria encourages community groups in Girgarre to attend Call, Push and Shock sessions to learn how to use their new 24/7 AED in an emergency.
Any community groups interested in arranging a small group session can email LoddonMalleeRegion.OCELCoordinator@ambulance.vic.gov.au
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