The communities of Warburton and Yarra Junction can now access a defibrillator any time of the day or night on their main streets thanks to the Upper Yarra Community Enterprise, and the Warburton and Yarra Junction Community Bank branches.
A public access defibrillator has been installed adjacent to the ATM at the front of each of the branches in an initiative to give back to the community as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of community banking in the Upper Yarra region in 2020. “When our team discussed a significant way we could say thank you to our community for their ongoing support, providing 24 hour access 7 days a week to this life-saving technology clearly aligned with the values of our Community Bank,” says Chair of the Upper Yarra Community Enterprise Mr Rodney McKail.
The defibrillator project is a joint project with the Ambulance Victoria team at Yarra Junction led by Shaun Caulfield, Ambulance Team Manager. “It shows a great community partnership between ‘our own local Community Bank branches’ of Bendigo Bank and ‘our own local branch’ division of Ambulance Victoria. That we are coming together to help reduce the toll of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by improving access to defibs is fantastic, as we know they do save lives,” says Caulfield. “It would be great to return to the defibs located at either of the Warburton or Yarra Junction branches five years from now and find they have not been used, BUT it is comforting to know they are there and accessible 24/7 if they are needed.”
“The ATMs are an appropriate place to site these defibrillators as they are well known locations, that are central, well lit and provide the added security of CCTV,” says McKail. “Community is the cornerstone of our Community Bank philosophy. What a fantastic way to exemplify that.”
