Bridgewater Village grateful for its defibrillator

Mike Savage from Legacy Funerals with Greerton Library supervisor Shelley Wu (left) and Tauranga Libraries manager Jill Best - they were given a defibrillator last week. Photo / Carmen Hall

"Is there a defibrillator on site" was a question recently asked at Bridgewater Village.
Thanks to Legacy Trust, the answer was "yes".

The question came when one of the residents at the 80-strong community of seniors suffered a turn only weeks after the village was gifted an Automated External Defibrillator.

Legacy has recently gifted eight Automated External Defibrillators to various sectors of the community, with the same amount purchased and ready to be presented elsewhere.

Bridgewater Village committee secretary David Garland says that, while in the end the defibrillator wasn't used, it was called upon and the village residents are very grateful they have one.

The village's management were all the more appreciative as they had asked for a contribution toward buying a defibrillator, and were then gifted one.

David says the fact that Legacy also offers training courses was hugely valuable.

Greerton Library is the latest defibrillator recipient, and Mount Maunganui Library is set to receive one this week.

Other recent recipients include Otumoetai Golf Club, Mount Main Street and Willow Street (Tourism BOP) and Papamoa and Mount Maunganui Surf Clubs.

Legacy Trust administrator Kiri Randall says Legacy is keen to support such a life-saving device.

"The provision of life-saving defibrillators is an initiative Legacy is keen to champion across the greater Tauranga area. We are financially backing these devices which, even if not actually used, provide peace of mind to so many people," Kiri says.

The Legacy Trust is the owner of Legacy Funerals and distributes all the earnings from the company to community and charitable causes in the greater Tauranga area.

Those earnings enable the purchase of things such as defibrillators, for example.

The defibrillator can easily be used by lay people in a cardiac arrest emergency and goes beyond what can be achieved by CPR.

Early defibrillation can increase someone's chance of survival from three per cent to more than 70 per cent, according to the Red Cross.