ASB helps breathe life into local communities

ASB today announced they are fitting defibrillators at a number of branches to help save the lives of more New Zealanders. The first three units have been installed in ASB’s Sylvia Park and Westfield Albany shopping mall branches and also at the ASB Terrace End branch in Palmerston North. They are now available for use.

This initiative is in addition to the CPR courses ASB is funding for 10,000 people to be CPR trained by ASB’s community partner, St John.

ASB’s CEO, Mr Charles Pink says “With over 10,000 courses having been offered for New Zealanders to receive the CPR training, it’s now time to extend our involvement in the community in this very important area. Anyone can use the defibrillators we are funding, as one of its functions is to talk the user through the whole defibrillation process.”

“ASB’s partnership with St John involves two longstanding New Zealand organisations committed to working together in our communities to help educate people in first aid and save lives. Both ASB and St John are confident these two initiatives - the CPR training programme and making more defibrillators available out there in the community – will mean more New Zealanders will come to understand how to get people breathing again after a cardiac arrest and hopefully reduce the incidence of premature death.”

The statistics show that on average more than 1,000 Kiwis go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital environment each year, with a survival rate of only 8%. Widespread CPR training and easier access to more defibrillators will increase this survival rate.

In addition to Sylvia Park, Albany and Terrace End, a defibrillator is also being installed at ASB in the WestCity Henderson shopping mall. ASB will also be donating defibrillator units for both the ASB Tennis Centre in Parnell and at the University of Auckland Business School.

If you would like to find out more about these defibrillators you may like to visit this link to St John - http://www.stjohn.org.nz/education/aed.aspx

Contact Information

Jonathan Symons

Head of Marketing

ASB Bank

Contact via E-mail