The passenger, a 48-year-old male from Hinckley, Ill. who had recently arrived at O’Hare from Jamaica, was not breathing when CBP officers reached him at the baggage carousel and radioed for paramedics. A CBP officer, certified in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillation (AED), immediately responded and began to use CPR to resuscitate the traveler who was turning a deep purple color.

Another passenger responded identifying himself as a doctor and instructed that the AED be used. CBP officers, trained in the use of AED, administered the procedure and the passenger began to breath again. Soon after, the paramedics arrived and attended to the passenger. Prior to being transported to a nearby hospital, the traveler was capable of speech and was responding to questions.

“Our CBP officers at O’Hare respond with the AED units several times per month and save several lives every year using the training,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chicago Port Director Carl Ambroson. “Classes are offered by the City of Chicago every month at both O’Hare and Midway Airports.”

The name of the program which positions AED units in the airport one minute apart is the Heart Saver Program and was the first of its kind in the country to be implemented by the City of Chicago Department of Aviation at O’Hare Airport about 15 years ago. More than one third of all Port of Chicago CBP officers have volunteered for this eight-hour training in AED and CPR and are currently certified.