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Article • 5/9/2022

Defibrillator units protecting staff and customers at E.E. Muir stores

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An initiative between Corteva Agriscience and E. E. Muir and Sons has led to the installation of more than a dozen defibrillator units at locations throughout Australia.

E. E. Muir and Sons Marketing Manager, Matt Utber said the defibrillator program was suggested by Gregg Baynon, of Corteva, as a way of looking after staff and customers in stores.

“It is a jointly funded partnership between the two companies, where defibrillator units and cabinets are purchased from St John’s Ambulance and installed on site,” he said.

“The goal is to eventually have units available at every E. E. Muir and Sons store in the country.”

Initially, 14 were installed over wide geographical areas in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Mr Utber said stores were chosen based on the age group of staff members and the proximity to major health and ambulance services.

Nick Weckert, from Corteva Agriscience, and Stumpy Anderson, Branch Manager of E. E. Muir and Sons, Dareton, NSW, with the defibrillator unit.

“The heart foundation says more than one in five Australian aged 45 to 75 have a moderate to high risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next five years,” he said.

“By having defibrillator units available on-site, any person having a heart attack may be able to get help quickly.”

He said the units are available for the community and, in Robinvale in northern Victoria, the E. E. Muir site has been registered with the local ambulance station.

“If someone is in trouble this unit could be the closest option to help save them.”

The St John Ambulance defibrillator and cabinet were chosen because, if needed, it could be operated by someone who was not necessarily trained in the machine.

“We have installed these units at locations that are visible and accessible,” Mt Utber said. “As soon as the unit is opened, an alarm goes off and a red light is activated to alert other people in the facility that there could be an issue.”

“The machine delivers coaching instructions via a speaker and will analyse the patient’s heart rhythm in seconds. If a shockable heart rhythm is detected the machine provides a customized shock automatically.”

E. E. Muir and Sons, Dareton, NSW Branch Manager, Stumpy Anderson, inspecting the defibrillator unit installed as part of an initiative with Corteva Agriscience.

“There is also real-time guidance driven CPR feedback on the quality of chest compressions.”

With a weight of just 2.6 kilograms, the defibrillator unit can easily be transported to the patient and will store rescue data that can be accessed by health professionals if necessary.

“While we haven’t had to use any of these units in an emergency to date, we are pleased that they are installed just in case an incident does occur,” Mr Utber said.

Nick Weckert, from Corteva Agriscience, said the project was an excellent collaboration between the two companies.

“These machines can save lives and to have one available in many of the E. E. Muir and Sons stores provides peace of mind if someone does have a heart attack or stroke.”

“Stores are often in remote areas of the country, and this could provide valuable assistance while waiting for an ambulance or other medical options to arrive.”

Mr Weckert said an example was the defibrillator unit located at Dareton, in far western New South Wales.

“The nearest ambulance station is approximately fifteen minutes away so the defibrillator machine can be utilised and potentially help save a life in the meantime,” he said.

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