He doesn’t just play a doctor on television.Dr. Mehmet Oz may be best known as the host of a talk show, but he’s also a trained heart surgeon.And on Monday night, he put his expertise to good use, saving a man’s life in a New Jersey airport.“It never gets old,” Oz told sister station WPBF. “I don’t think anyone in the health care field gets bored of saving lives.”Oz had just flown from Palm Beach, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey. Oz was at baggage claim when his daughter alerted him to a man had collapsed.“I ran over, quickly assessed if there was a pulse,” Oz said. “There wasn’t. His heart’s not beating. That’s why he had collapsed.”Oz said the man was turning dark purple, a sure sign that he wasn’t getting any oxygen.So Oz started performing CPR.Port Authority Officer Jeffrey Croissant was the first responding officer.“Training kind of kicks in,” he said, adding this was the first time he needed to perform CPR outside of training. “Obviously, you’re nervous. You’re hoping they’re going to be OK.”“He took over chest compressions,” Oz said of Croissant. “I went to the airway to get his lungs moving air again.”“Your first time doing CPR, and Dr. Oz shows up,” Croissant said with a laugh. “Definitely, it doesn’t get better than that.”Oz used a portable defibrillator to shock the patient back to life.“Oftentimes, it’s not enough. In this case, just like the movies, it was,” Oz said of the first shock. “You immediately could get a heartbeat back. His heart began to beat.”It’s not the first time Oz has saved someone in a public place.At an appearance in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2015, a woman collapsed and Oz brought her back.He said his knowledge of CPR has saved many lives.He hopes people hear about this story and decide to learn the same skills.“If you learn how to do basic CPR, which is essentially pushing down on someone’s chest, you’ll save lives,” Oz said. “And usually, you’ll save the life of someone you know. Because that’s who you spend time with.”
He doesn’t just play a doctor on television.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz may be best known as the host of a talk show, but he’s also a trained heart surgeon.
And on Monday night, he put his expertise to good use, saving a man’s life in a New Jersey airport.
“It never gets old,” Oz told sister station WPBF. “I don’t think anyone in the health care field gets bored of saving lives.”
Oz had just flown from Palm Beach, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey.
Oz was at baggage claim when his daughter alerted him to a man had collapsed.
“I ran over, quickly assessed if there was a pulse,” Oz said. “There wasn’t. His heart’s not beating. That’s why he had collapsed.”
Oz said the man was turning dark purple, a sure sign that he wasn’t getting any oxygen.
So Oz started performing CPR.
Port Authority Officer Jeffrey Croissant was the first responding officer.
“Training kind of kicks in,” he said, adding this was the first time he needed to perform CPR outside of training. “Obviously, you’re nervous. You’re hoping they’re going to be OK.”
“He took over chest compressions,” Oz said of Croissant. “I went to the airway to get his lungs moving air again.”
“Your first time doing CPR, and Dr. Oz shows up,” Croissant said with a laugh. “Definitely, it doesn’t get better than that.”
Oz used a portable defibrillator to shock the patient back to life.
“Oftentimes, it’s not enough. In this case, just like the movies, it was,” Oz said of the first shock. “You immediately could get a heartbeat back. His heart began to beat.”
It’s not the first time Oz has saved someone in a public place.
At an appearance in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2015, a woman collapsed and Oz brought her back.
He said his knowledge of CPR has saved many lives.
He hopes people hear about this story and decide to learn the same skills.
“If you learn how to do basic CPR, which is essentially pushing down on someone’s chest, you’ll save lives,” Oz said. “And usually, you’ll save the life of someone you know. Because that’s who you spend time with.”
