A Kiwi provider of health, wellness, and sense of security solutions has stepped up to address a leading cause of death in New Zealand adults.
Cigna and GrownUps, an online lifestyle magazine, social club, and brain training website, have joined Heart Saver’s
Become a Heart Saver campaign to help save Kiwi lives from sudden cardiac arrest.
Every day, five Kiwis suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest, with roughly 1,500 of them dying every year as a result.
The campaign works to give Kiwis more access to an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which, when made available to a person suffering from an attack within three minutes can more than double their chances of survival. New Zealand currently has approximately 6,000 units available which must be increased to best practice standards of 10,000.
“We started the
Become a Heart Saver campaign with the intention of getting more AEDs around the country, making them more available to everyday Kiwis. It was our goal to give away 12 AEDs over 12 months to community groups, schools, or not for profit organisations in the hope of saving more lives,” said Mike Mander, Heart Saver’s managing director.
“We are really excited that Cigna and GrownUps have joined us on this mission – with their incredible support we can now give away two AEDs a month and help more communities.”
Cigna and GrownUps kick off their new partnership by giving away an extra AED in June to a successful applicant. The event will be run across both their website and social pages.
“Your health is the number one asset you can protect,” said Cigna CEO Lance Walker. “For the third year in a row our 360 Wellbeing survey reported that Kiwis rate cardiovascular disease as their second biggest health concern after cancer.
“Cigna, along with GrownUps, is committed to helping Kiwis improve their health and wellbeing and are really excited to support Heart Saver’s initiative to get AEDs to those that may most need one but may not be able to purchase one themselves.”
Related stories:
Cigna New Zealand nabs innovation award
Five Minutes With… Lance Walker, Cigna NZ
.jpg)
