Volunteers welcome new defibrillator to Hawks Nest Community Hall Myall Coast Myall Coast by News Of The Area - Modern Media - March 5, 2024 Kelly Pietsch educates the gathered volunteers in the Meals on Wheels premises. PRESERVATION of life became more practical with the arrival of a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at the Hawks Nest Community Hall, funded by the generous volunteers of three community groups – Meals on Wheels, the Wednesday Craft Group, and the Community Technology Centre. Around eighteen volunteers from the three groups gathered in the Meals on Wheels kitchen to receive expert initial instruction from local rescue and emergency services member Kelly Pietsch, regarding how to use the latest weapon in their arsenal of public safety. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au Owner/lead instructor at MidCoast First Aid and Safety, Kelly is also a member of the Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Surf Life Saving Club and Tea Gardens Fire & Rescue NSW, and covered First Aid fundamentals, including the ‘Chain of Survival’ and DRSABCD. That final ‘D’, of course, stands for ‘Defibrillator’, and, as Kelly made crystal clear, “If DRSABCD is not started, the defib will not help. “Defibs cannot restart a heart that has suffered a heart attack, but they are the only definitive treatment for an arrest. “Heart attack is a ‘plumbing problem’, a blockage of the coronary artery, while cardiac arrest is an ‘electrical problem’, the heart is fibrillating… going into unnatural rhythms,” Kelly explained. “Heart attack symptoms differ widely for everyone, people often seek excuses like ‘just indigestion’, but if you are ever in doubt about whether or not to call 000, make the call!” The new defib includes a preparation kit, containing a contactless breathing mask, gloves, shaver, paper towels and clothes shears, and Kelly ran through the AED’s operation, which includes automated verbal instructions, including “push harder” for compressions, and “shock advised” warnings. The new Community Hall AED is one of few 24/7 accessible units around town, with an outdoor container that will sound an alarm if opened, mounted outside in the walkway between the old and new buildings. By Thomas O’KEEFE Volunteers receive detailed instruction from Kelly on the actual AED’s usage. Volunteer Betty-Anne models the location of the AED’s new outdoor, 24/7 accessible case.
