The aims of the Heart Safe Community initiative
The Heart Safe Community initiative aims to improve survival rates for people suffering cardiac arrest across Victoria by teaching community members how to perform CPR and use an AED when others need it most. This is a joint initiative between Ambulance Victoria and the Heart Foundation.
The program aims to:
- Raise community awareness of cardiac arrest
- Promote the role of Triple Zero (000) in a cardiac emergency
- Teach people CPR skills and how to use a defibrillator
- Identify and register existing defibrillators
- Install and register new defibrillators
- promote and educate on the use of smart phone technologies, like GoodSAM
Heart Safe Community locations are selected based on the following:
- ambulance demand
- number of cardiac arrests
- rates of bystander CPR
- number of publicly accessible AEDs
- population and demographics
- access to health care
- infrastructure
- community capacity and readiness to engage
Heart Safe Community locations
Thirty one locations are now official Heart Safe Communities in Victoria.
In 2023 we welcomed Bulla, Heathcote, Heywood, Lake Boga, Meeniyan, Metung, Monbulk, Nathalia, St Arnaud, Tallangatta, Warracknabeal and Winchelsea to the Heart Safe Community Program.
Map key
2018 Pilot
2019 Expansion
2022 Expansion
2023 Expansion
Barwon South West
- Bellarine
- Queenscliff
- Camperdown
- Terang
- Port Fairy
- Coleraine
- Lismore
- Heywood
- Winchelsea
Gippsland
- Inverloch
- Rosedale
- Mallacoota
- Longwarry
- Yallourn North
- Meeniyan
- Metung
Grampians
- Smythesdale
- Clunes
- Murtoa
- Warracknabeal
- St Arnaud
Hume
- Tatura
- Euroa
- Beechworth
- Chiltern
- Violet Town
- Tallangatta
- Nathalia
Loddon Mallee
- Boort
- Donald
- Robinvale
- Murrayville
- Stanhope
- Dunolly
- Lake Boga
- Heathcote
Metro
- Healesville
- Red Hill
- Kinglake
- Bacchus Marsh
- Bulla
- Monbulk
Evaluation
Melbourne University evaluated the initiative and the overall findings demonstrated that the pilot sites built local community capacity to respond to out of hospital cardiac arrest as demonstrated by increased community knowledge, confidence and skills to call 000, attempt chest compressions and acquire and use an AED. Download the Heart Safe Community Pilot Final Report (3.5 MB PDF)
We know that lives have been saved, and more will be saved, because of this initiative. We are committed to working with more communities across Victoria to improve out of hospital cardiac arrests survival rates.
