HEART health advocate and Defib Hero ambassador, Guy Leech, was in Coffs Harbour last week speaking at “Stand Tall” suicide prevention events for high school students.
The former Ironman champion provided an educational explanation of Defib Hero to an audience of 1,600, over two days.
Defib Hero is a community app that helps users locate their nearest defibrillator.
It guides them to the device in an emergency and provides simple training on how to use it.
The program has played a key role in improving awareness and access to defibrillators across the region.
“Guy’s visit was extremely well received by the attendees,” local Defib Hero spokesperson Brad Daymond told News Of The Area.
“Many of the children had not heard of Defib Hero, so it was an excellent opportunity to educate such a large group, who could then share the benefits of the program with their parents and grandparents.
“Defib Hero Coffs Coast continues to grow from strength to strength, and even if only a third of the children share the news with family members, and download the Defib Hero App, then we will have well over 1000 more people actively aware of Defib Hero.
“This greatly increases the chances one of the 120 defibrillators available being used in someone’s moment of need.”
The Defib Hero program rollout has made Coffs Harbour one of the most heart safe communities in Australia.
Guy used the opportunity to launch Elliot, a compact, affordable, easy-to-use automated external defibrillator designed specifically for the home where the majority of cardiac arrests occur.
“With around 75–80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occurring in the home, Elliot aims to close a critical gap in survival by making defibrillators accessible where they are needed most,” he said.
He also thanked the local business community, particularly the Pink Silks Trust charity, for identifying the location of over 100 existing defibrillators and mapping them on the Defib Hero App.
By Andrea FERRARI
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