Vicinity Centres partners with Heart of the Nation to help responders find lifesaving equipment faster

The majority of Vicinity’s shopping centres Australia-wide have been added to the Heart of the Nation app to guide first responders to the closest available Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in emergencies. 

AEDs are critical for survival following a sudden cardiac arrest and if used within the first three minutes can improve lifesaving outcomes from 10 per cent to 70 per cent.  

 Vicinity Centres Group Director Customer and Asset Management, Kirrily Lord said, “Vicinity is proud to partner with Heart of the Nation to make our life saving equipment available more broadly to the community.  

When an AED is needed to treat a sudden cardiac arrest, the Heart of the Nation app notifies registered first responders to come to the aid of the patient and guides responders to the closest registered AED which could be in a neighbouring business or residence. Sadly though, less than 3% of cases of cardiac arrest are fortunate enough to receive a shock from a publicly available AED before paramedics arrive, which could be too late. 

Heart of the Nation CEO, Greg Page said, “Partnering with Vicinity Centres means that those people who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest close to a centre might just get the urgent lifesaving help they need sooner. 

“Most people are able to use an AED, even if they’ve never used one before with newer models talking you through the steps or they have easy to follow diagrams.” 

Sudden cardiac arrest symptoms include sudden collapse, no breathing and loss of consciousness. It kills around 27,000 Australian each year. 

Vicinity’s additional 56 centres adds to the more than 6,000 existing locations of AEDs to the growing Heart of the Nation charity.    

Vicinity and Heart of the Nation encourage community members to download the Heart of the Nation app and sign up (for free) to become a Registered Responder. Registered responders don’t have to be first aid trained to help deliver an AED to someone in need and will help strengthen the community’s ability to call, Push, Shock when needed. 

In the 2022 Financial Year, Vicinity Centres contributed around $2.9 million worth of donations and in-kind support to local communities.