By YASEMIN TALAT
MORE than 90 automatic defibrillator units have been provided to the Hobsons Bay and Wyndham communities and it doesn’t stop there.
The Altona, Laverton/Altona Meadows and Point Cook Community Bank branches have granted three other communities access to the life-saving equipment.
The Community Bank branches have funded three automatic defibrillators for the Daylesford, Trentham and Blackwood communities.
It is all part of the Bendigo Bank’s ongoing support of the Defib Your Club for Life program.
Community Bank Director Michael Boyd said the latest purchase is an extension of the local program.
“Additional life-saving equipment for our community is a positive outcome,” Mr Boyd said.
Branch Manager Daylesford District Community Bank Branch, Steven McKinley is pleased that each of the communities now has access to automatic defibrillator units.
“It is a great example of how a Community Bank can make a difference in the community, and is possible simply because local people choose to do their business at their local Community Bank branch,” Mr McKinley said.
The Defib Your Club for Life program is an initiative formed in memory of Stephen Buckman, a 19 year old Rupertswood footballer who collapsed and died during a training session in May 2010.
Founding director MICA paramedic Andrew White was off duty and at the club at the time of the incident.
Mr White believed timely access to a defibrillator may have helped.
“A defibrillator is the most important piece of equipment any club or group can have,” Mr White said.
For more information on Defib Your Club for Life visit www.defibforlife.org.au
