ASHI and MEDIC First Aid Blog

To help inspire you to finally take that emergency care class you’ve been thinking about for years, check out this Good Samaritan story from one of our ASHI instructors.

Chris Dwyer of Professional Cardiac Resources in Windsor, CA, shared with us how three of his long-time ASHI students came to the rescue of a coworker.

On December 2, 2017, a group of commercial electricians from Mike Brown Electric were working on a job in Rohnert Park, CA. One of the crew began to feel ill and complained of chest pains. Suddenly, he collapsed in full cardiac arrest. After a quick call to 911, the patient’s coworkers Steve Barber, Scott Vedder and Thomas Evind took turns performing CPR until EMS from Rohnert Park Public Safety arrived.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) was applied, the patient was shocked and then transported to the hospital. He survived his ordeal and his prognosis is good.

Attending doctors told the rescuers that their immediate intervention with CPR is what saved the man’s life. Without it, he would not have survived. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Approximately 350,000 people of all ages experience EMS-assessed out-of-hospital non-traumatic SCA each year and nine out of 10 victims die. By quickly administering CPR and early defibrillation with an AED, survival rates increase from an average of 10 percent to 50 percent.

For one electrician in California, that second chance at life came from three trained bystanders with the confidence to respond. “I am so proud of my students for doing the right thing and stepping in to save their coworker’s life,” said Chris.

Is this the year you resolve to learn the potentially lifesaving skills of CPR, AED and first aid? There’s an ASHI or MEDIC First Aid Training Center near you ready to help. Click the button below and go to "Locate a Training Center" on the top navigation bar.