Man saves woman's life using CPR technique he learned from "The Office"
By Sophie Lewis
/ CBS News
Don't say binge-watching never helped anyone. A classic scene from an episode of the sitcom "The Office" helped a mechanic from Arizona save an unconscious woman's life, the Arizona Daily Star reports.
Cross Scott, 21, told the Star he found a woman locked in her car while he was at work. He broke in using a rock, took her pulse and realized she was not breathing. Scott doesn't have any formal emergency training, but instead referenced a scene from an episode of "The Office."
"I've never prepared myself for CPR in my life," Scott told the Arizona Daily Star. "I had no idea what I was doing."
The episode famously features a failed CPR training among the Dunder Mifflin employees. The instructor attempts to show the character Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, the proper technique by doing chest compressions to the tune of the song "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees'. The song's tempo matches the recommended 100 beats a minute.
Scott began to follow the technique recommended in the episode, singing the tune out loud as he performed CPR. Within a minute, the woman was breathing, and she was taken to the hospital with the help of two woman who stopped and called 911. She was released shortly after.
Courtney Slanaker, executive director of the Red Cross Southern Arizona chapter confirmed that "Stayin' Alive" is actually the correct rhythm for chest compressions. But it's not the only one. New York-Presbyterian Hospital put together a handy playlist of songs to remember that all match up with the recommended tempo.
First published on January 26, 2019
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