Public Defibrillator Fundraiser Locked In

IMAGE: First Aid Awareness and Training owner Samantha Sculthorpe, who is hosting a fundraiser at the Cowra Bowling Club, aiming to raise enough to purchase three public defibrillators for Cowra.

First Aid Awareness and Training and the Cowra Bowling Club have teamed up to organise a fundraiser that aims to deliver three public Automatic External Defibrillators in Cowra.

The fundraiser will be a twilight bowls event at the Bowling Club from 5pm on Saturday 5th November, with the goal to raise $9000.

The funds would be enough to purchase three AEDs that are accessible 24/7 with security sirens, either wall mounted or in a floor stand.

The funds would also cover AED training by FAAT, replacement batteries and pads for the AEDs, and adding them to the Heart Of The Nation app so they can be located and tracked.

FAAT owner and local first aid instructor Samantha Sculthorpe has been planning to get 24 hour accessible AED installed on the main street of Cowra for some time, teaming up with Wiggles legend Greg Page to start working on the concept through his organisation, Heart Of The Nation, which he established after suffering a heart attack while performing in January 2020. Mr Page will be a special guest at the fundraiser.

HOTN raises awareness of the importance of having defibrillators more accessible for the public across Australia, and maps out locations of registered defibrillators that can be searched for online.

Ms Sculthorpe said it was vitally important for Cowra to have public AEDs.

“Use of an AED within the first three minutes of a cardiac arrest has shown to improve lifesaving outcomes of patients from 10% up to 70%,” she said.

“CPR alone is unlikely to revive a patient who is in Cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is usually the result of an electrical dysfunction within the heart, and some types of those dysfunctions (or arrhythmias) are what we call shockable rhythms.”

“When a patient has a “shockable rhythm” it is vital that an AED is used quickly, because that ‘shockable rhythm’ will deteriorate rapidly over time. For every minute that passes, the patient’s chance of surviving decreases by around 10%.”

Ms Sculthorpe said she was looking for businesses to make donations prior to the fundraiser, with any donation being accepted.

To make a donation, please contact her at firstaidawarenessandtraining@outlook.com.

To register for the twilight bowls, please contact Ellie at the Bowling Club on 63421279.

The event includes two hours of bowls, a sausage sizzle, live music, raffles, and special guest Greg Page.