Melrose Park Home to Heart Safe Community

A ground-breaking health initiative that aims to save the lives of cardiac arrest victims is being rolled out at Melrose Park.

Six defibrillators have been installed across One Melrose in a partnership with local organisation, the Michael Hughes Foundation.

A total of 20 life-saving defibrillators will be installed across Melrose Park, under a program to become a ‘Heart Safe Community.’

Eighty per cent of cardiac arrests - where a person is unconscious and has stopped breathing - occur in the home.

The program will increase the chances of survival for a patient suffering a heart attack at home from 9 per cent to about 60-70 per cent.

Julie Hughes established the Michael Hughes Foundation after her husband Michael died of a cardiac arrest when he was just 38.

The Michael Hughes Foundation’s mission is to turn bystanders into first responders.

“Time is always of the essence when a cardiac arrest event occurs but particularly so when it occurs in an apartment development,’’ Julie said.

Michael Hughes Foundation Chair Kevin McSweeney, a paramedic, said there would be free training for residents on how to use the defibrillator and perform CPR.

There will also be an app that notifies trained residents of a person suffering a cardiac arrest.

‘’If you have easy access to multiple defibrillators, it will save lives,” Kevin said.

Sekisui House Australia Project Director Simon Adams said the company was delighted to partner with the Michael Hughes Foundation.

“Melrose Park is all about healthy living, and there is nothing more important than helping people in urgent need of life-saving first aid.”