OTR Installs Defibrillator for the Murray Bridge Community

OTR Installs Defibrillator for the Murray Bridge Community

South Australia’s leading retailer and largest private employer OTR will join together with St John Ambulance SA to install their first public access defibrillator in Murray Bridge, at the OTR Murray Bridge store on Adelaide Road, with the hope that it could save lives for the local Riverland community in the case of sudden cardiac arrest.

OTR have installed 24 defibrillators around regional SA including Port Augusta, Whyalla, Naracoorte, and Mannum, and have more planned.

OTR CEO, Warren Wilmot said, “We are proud to be supporting the Murray Bridge community through this important partnership with St John Ambulance SA, which aims to save lives of South Australians and support regional communities.”

“OTR is at the heart of South Australian communities and we are proud to support an investment that can potentially save lives and promote the awareness and use of defibrillators in regional areas,” continued Warren.

“This initiative is particularly important to us as, two years ago, OTR Subway Area Manager, Kristy Smith, suffered a cardiac arrest and received 16 electric shocks from a defibrillator which saved her life. Two years later, she is still working for Subway and doing amazing things in our team. We are grateful that the defibrillator was there for Kristy when she needed it and we want to ensure that OTR can provide support to others should the need ever arise,” Warren concluded.

Each year approximately 30,000 Australians suffer from sudden cardiac arrest. St John Ambulance SA CEO Ray Creen explains, ““Having access to a defibrillator in the event of cardiac arrest is vital. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent.”

“We are very pleased to partner with OTR to install public access defibrillators across their regional sites where access to emergency medical care may be delayed due to geographical barriers. It is fantastic to see OTR supporting the wellbeing of the South Australian community.”

“It is important for the public to know that these defibrillators are safe and easy to use by any person and will give audio and visual prompts to the user. They are completely intuitive and will only shock a person that requires it so you can do no harm,” concluded Ray.

Throughout the remainder of 2019, OTR are committed to installing even more defibrillators in regional areas across South Australia, eventually bringing the total number of defibrillators to 32.

The innovative OTRGive program is another key way that OTR is supporting the community on an ongoing basis. Every time a customer shops or refuels at OTR with the OTR App, OTR makes a donation on the customer’s behalf to the community group of their choice – including St John Ambulance SA – at no cost to the customer.