A DEFIBRILLATOR has been installed at the National Holden Motor Museum and Bunker Gallery on Coffs’ City Hill.
The Automated External Debrillator (AED) is part of a campaign by Defib Hero to have a device within three minutes driving distance of anyone in the Coffs Local Government Area (LGA).
Guy Leech, founder of the Defib Hero App and renowned Australian fitness advocate, thanked donors from Pink Silks Trust, AJ Civil Projects Coffs Harbour, and Sperin Construction in Newcastle.
After his friend Chucky died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Mr Leech started campaigning for more local AEDs and for their registration on an app.
He founded Defib Hero in response to asking himself one of life’s most haunting questions, “What if?”
“What if I had a defib in the car, What if the cafe nearby had a defib? What if I could have put Chucky on a defib in that first 180 seconds?
“If any of my other fit and healthy friends, my kids [or] my wife were to suffer from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest, where is the nearest defib right now and does anyone know how to use it?”
Major sponsor Pink Silks Trust Chair and co-founder Tanya Johnson OAM is keen to see Defib Hero education plans rolling out.
“People are scared of what they don’t know, and education takes that fear away,” she said.
The goal is to ensure that a higher percentage of those who live in the LGA are more aware of defibrillators, the Defib Hero App, and how to find and use a defibrillator in a moment of need.
The strategy to educate the community is to make over 2000 local high school students Defib Hero Champions.
“To achieve this, we will send a proposal to eight local schools offering a 30-minute education piece on the Defib Hero Coffs Coast Project,” said advocate Brad Daymond, Manager at Pacific Bay Resort.
“By educating high school students and providing them with material to share with their families, we hope to substantially grow downloads of the Defib Hero App and also educate many in… their ease of use.”
The City Hill museum/gallery is the second City of Coffs Harbour (CoCH) asset to house an AED, the first being the amenities block at the Coffs Harbour Boat Ramp.
“This is Council and community working together,” Mayor Nikki Williams said.
“We have to make accessibility and [the] use of defibrillators easier for everyone…seconds count.”
Speaking on behalf of Rotary Coffs Harbour, which supports the Cartoon Gallery and Holden Motor Museum, Graham Lockett said, “The gallery and museum hosts around 900 visitors every month and they are in the older demographic for [likely] needing an AED.”
There are now 20 AEDs in Coffs’ LGA purchased and installed through the Defib Hero program.
By Andrea FERRARI
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