Nagambie graduates as Heart Safe Community

More Victorians are ready to help save the life of someone in cardiac arrest, with another 12 towns across the state, including Nagambie, graduating as Heart Safe Communities, bringing the total number of Heart Safe Communities across Victoria to 66. Victoria has the second highest cardiac arrest survival rate in the world, with initiatives such as the Heart Safe Communities program empowering more community members to take life-saving action. Through the 12-month program, run by Ambulance Victoria and the Heart Foundation, Victorians learn the simple skills that can make the difference between life and death: recognising a cardiac arrest, giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), using an automated external defibrillator (AED), registering publicly accessible AEDs and signing up as GoodSAM responders. Across the new Heart Safe towns over the past year, Ambulance Victoria trained more than 4300 community members to Call, Push, Shock, and there are now 172 registered AEDs; 70 of them publicly accessible 24/7. Importantly, more people signed up as GoodSAM responders, meaning more than 18,600 Victorians are now registered on the app. In Nagambie, there are 466 community members trained in Call, Push, Shock, nine registered AEDs and three AEDs that are publicly accessible 24/7. Ambulance Victoria Director Research and Evaluation Dr Ziad Nehme congratulated the graduating communities and welcomed the next group of towns joining the initiative. "Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and every minute matters; the sooner someone receives bystander CPR and defibrillation, the better their chance of survival," he said. "The Heart Safe Communities program shows Victorians that anyone can help save a life by following three simple steps: Call Triple Zero (000), Push hard and fast on the centre of the chest to give CPR and Shock using an AED to attempt to restart the heart. "Bystander intervention has the biggest impact on cardiac arrest survival, so it's encouraging to see more people equipped with the confidence and skills to take action while paramedics are on their way." The Heart Safe Communities program in 2026-27 is delivered by Ambulance Victoria paramedics and first responders, made possible thanks to $93,000 in funding from the Heart Foundation. Heart Foundation General Manager Victoria Chris Enright said the initiative, which launched in 2019, is making a real difference. “We are proud to partner with Ambulance Victoria to deliver the Heart Safe Communities program. This partnership helps ensure more Victorian communities have the life-saving tools and training they need to act fast in an emergency,” she said. The announcement of the graduating and new Heart Safe Communities comes ahead of Restart a Heart Day on 16 October, an annual global initiative to raise awareness and educate the community about CPR and AEDs. Visit the Ambulance Victoria website to learn more about Shocktober, find your nearest AED and sign up as a GoodSAM responder.