Lang Lang and Kingsville are now well equipped to help save the life of someone in cardiac arrest – the towns graduating this month as Heart Safe Communities.
It comes as Moonee Ponds and Springvale begin the life-saving 12-month joint initiative by Ambulance Victoria (AV) and the Heart Foundation.
The Heart Safe Communities program aims to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest with a concerted effort in selected towns across Victoria to teach residents how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator (AED), register publicly accessible AEDs, and increase the number of active GoodSAM responders.
GoodSAM is a life-saving smartphone app that connects Victorians in cardiac arrest with members of the community who are willing to start CPR before paramedics arrive.
Over the past year in Lang Lang, 286 community members learnt to Call, Push, Shock – 11 per cent of the town’s population – and four new publicly accessible AEDs were registered, three of them 24/7 accessible, bringing the total number of registered AEDs in the community to eight.
Meanwhile in Kingsville, 800 community members learnt to Call, Push, Shock – 20 per cent of the town’s population – and eight new publicly accessible registered AEDs were installed, two of them 24/7 accessible, bringing the total number of registered AEDs in the community to eight.
AV Acting Metropolitan Regional Director Jess McGowan congratulated everyone involved in the program, as work begins in Moonee Ponds and Springvale.
“The Heart Safe Communities program is all about teaching Victorians that anyone can save a life – simply follow the three simple steps: Call Triple Zero (000), Push hard and fast on the middle of the chest to give CPR, and Shock using an AED,” she said.
“Every minute matters in a cardiac arrest and it’s pleasing to know more people in our region will now feel confident to act while paramedics are on their way.
“We’re excited to get to work with community members in Moonee Ponds and Springvale and empower them with the skills to save a life.”
Victoria has Australia’s best cardiac arrest survival rate and the third best anywhere in the world, largely thanks to high rates of bystander intervention.
The Heart Safe Communities program launched in 2019 and there are now 54 Heart Safe Communities across Victoria, with another 12 towns commencing the program for 2025-26.
Heart Foundation Victoria General Manager Chris Enright said initiatives such as Heart Safe Communities are designed to support and encourage bystanders to take life-saving action in an emergency.
“In a Heart Safe Community, residents who’ve taken part in the initiative are equipped with the knowledge and tools to respond to somebody experiencing a cardiac arrest. This support includes giving people the confidence to step in and perform CPR, as well as the use of a life-saving AED to help increase someone’s chances of survival,” she said.
“The Heart Foundation is proud to work alongside Ambulance Victoria to provide communities with access to life-saving resources and training through the Heart Safe Communities program.”
