Victorian agricultural communities will be supported with lifesaving defibrillators thanks to the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) and St John Ambulance.
VFF President Emma Germano today announced that seven St John defibrillators will be delivered for use in remote communities across Victoria in the coming weeks.
“We are thrilled to announce the winners at a time when life-saving technology like this has never been more important to support local farming communities.”
“In some of these areas, having a defibrillator will be the difference between life and death as medical help can be far away.”
“I would like to thank and congratulate all winners for the time taken to provide these life-saving devices for their community to use in their time of need,” Ms Germano said.
Brigit Senior from Fish Creek in South Gippsland was one of the winners, who said that residents of the agricultural region will benefit with public access to a defibrillator.
“Almost 25 per cent of the Fish Creek population is aged 65 years and over and there is an increased chance of cardiac arrest in the area.”
“Our community is so grateful to have this St John defibrillator and it will be mounted on the external wall of the Fish Creek and District Fire Station.’
The seven Victorian communities that will receive the defibrillators are:
• Barwite, Victoria (Valerie O’Halloran) – North East Victoria
• Nhill, Victoria (Dianne Koop) – Wimmera
• Chetwynd, Victoria (Steve Dillon) – South West Victoria
• Derrinallum, Victoria (Jack Salter) – South West Victoria
• Pyramid Hill, Victoria (Denise Leed) – Loddon Valley
• Tambo Crossing, Victoria (Jen Smith) – East Gipplsand
• Fish Creek, Victoria (Brigit Senior) – South Gippsland.
The diverse range of winners reflects the crucial role the life-saving machine plays in regional farming communities. In those communities, access to an ambulance ranges from 20 to 60 minutes.
St John Ambulance Victoria CEO, Gordon Botwright says we are proud to partner with Victorian Farmers Federation to award these seven lifesaving defibrillators to our Victorian farming communities.
“As much as we hope these devices never need to be used, we are pleased seven more defibrillators are now available across Victoria. The defibrillators will provide another critical safety measure and enable first responders to act immediately in an emergency. St John representatives will be providing training to the locals on the use of the defibrillator.”
For details of winners and to find out more about the VFF MOFS initiative, click here.
The MOFS project is funded by the Victorian Government through the Growing Victoria’s Agriculture election commitment and the Smarter Safer Farms program.