EUGENE, Ore. -- (Dec. 5, 2011) – A University of Oregon instructor and an officer from the university’s Department of Public Safety helped save the life of a student who suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on campus late last month.
“This was exceptional – actually extraordinary – work on your part, and it exemplifies the best skills and traits of our profession,” said UODPS Chief Doug Tripp.
Officer Andrew Johnson was dispatched at 3:42 p.m. on Nov. 21 to University Street and Johnson Lane, on a report of an injured student. Johnson arrived to find Mark Blaine, a senior instructor in the School of Journalism and Communication, administering CPR on the student, who had no pulse.
Blaine, who has training as a Wilderness First Responder, said the student was one of two who were shooting a video for a journalism class when the incident occurred. Blaine was following about 50 yards behind them when his student was stricken.
“It looked like he slipped and fell, right around the barricades in front of the EMU,” Blaine said. “When I got to him, I felt maybe he’d had a seizure.”
He directed other nearby students to call 9-1-1, then began CPR when told to do so by the emergency operator. Blaine started chest compressions, as a student kept the patient’s airway open.
Johnson arrived at the scene and retrieved an automatic external defibrillator (AED) from his patrol vehicle, and placed its pads on the non-responsive student’s chest. The AED advised a shock be delivered, and Johnson used the AED to administer the recommended lifesaving shock.
Eugene Fire Department medics arrived a short time later, and took over care for the student as Blaine continued doing chest compressions.
The student was placed on a backboard and transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. He received emergency treatment for cardiac arrest and has since recovered.
“I haven’t seen him yet, but I’m looking forward to that,” Blaine said.
Tripp, the UODPS chief, thanked both Blaine and Johnson for “being courageous under incredible stress, and for making the difference between life and death.”
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Mosley, UO media relations, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu
SOURCE:Capt. Ed Rinne, UO Department of Public Safety, 541-346-8335, rinne@uoregon.edu