The Andrews Centre in Endeavour Hills has received a life-saving Automated External Defibrillator (AED) from St John Ambulance Victoria as part of the 2025 Shocktober Competition.
The centre is a local community hub that works to assist families and individuals in crisis by providing emergency clothing, food, financial assistance, legal and psychological counselling as well as organising local events and outings.
The hub was chosen from hundreds of entries in Victoria and was originally nominated by the CEO, Judy Martin, who emphasised the need for critical medical equipment in the busy centre and was thankful for the donation by St Johns.
“We are absolutely delighted to receive this defibrillator from St John,” said Martin.
“Our centre is a vital part of the Endeavour Hills community, providing support to people of all ages.
“Knowing we now have this life-saving device accessible to the public gives us, and our community, greater peace of mind.”
A defibrillator can cost upward of $1500 but Gordon Botwright, CEO of St John, highlights the crucial role an AED can play in a cardiac event and the continued work that the organisation is doing to get more of them in the community.
“Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time, and too often without warning,” said Botwright
“Immediate CPR and early defibrillation can mean the difference between life and death.
“By placing more AEDs in high-traffic community sites, we are helping to improve survival rates across Victoria.
“When these devices are immediately available, survival rates can rise to up to 70%, which is why initiatives like Shocktober are so important..”
According to annual data from St John Ambulance, less than 5 per cent of 8000 Victorians who experience a sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive.
The data also highlighted that immediate treatment of performing CPR and defibrillation within the first three to four minutes of cardiac arrest can increase survival rates up to 70 per cent, yet in 2024, only 141 people received a shock from a public defibrillator.
As part of the donation and during the handover of the medical machine, volunteers at the centre were given a CPR demonstration and shown how to properly perform a shock if necessary.
