A wait near the pharmacy turned into a life-or-death emergency, and three Scottsdale Costco employees stepped in fast.
Barry Baker was at the Scottsdale store near Hayden Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard last month when he suffered a medical emergency and lost consciousness.
Two pharmacists, Todd Gookin and Gary Bachmeier, called 911 and started CPR. Store manager Mike Weston brought the store’s automated external defibrillator, or AED, and used it on Baker.
Baker was then taken to the hospital for further treatment.
Scottsdale Fire credited the rapid response with saving Baker’s life. Baker was later found to have arteries that were 60 percent blocked, and he spent more than a week in the hospital.
On Wednesday, the Scottsdale Fire Department honored Gookin, Bachmeier and Weston for taking action.
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. So am I thankful? You bet,” Baker said.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen each year in the United States. Without CPR, about 90 percent of those victims do not survive. “When high-quality CPR starts immediately, a person’s chance of survival can double or even triple.”
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