Chrisman, center, and his parents meet the rescuers

HYDE PARK - Two campus safety officers and a registered nurse at The Culinary Institute of America saved the life of a student on December 1 by performing immediate cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and administering a shock from an on-campus automated external defibrillator within minutes.

The student, Doug Chrisman, 18, will return to class today.

At 7:34 a.m., as students were beginning their first classes after Thanksgiving break, Chrisman, a freshman from Missouri collapsed in a kitchen classroom. As the chef called the Safety Office to request assistance, a student ran to Health Services to summon a nurse. Within a minute, nurse Kelly O’Connor and safety officer Carl Wilson were on the scene. O’Connor initially found a pulse, but when it was lost, the two began performing CPR. Moments later, safety supervisor Lyle Burnett arrived with a defibrillator. After Burnett attached the shock pads, the machine advised that the student had a “shockable rhythm.” Shortly after a shock was administered, the patient began breathing on his own, and his color returned.

This all took place before an advanced life support Alamo Ambulance arrived on the scene with a paramedic. By 8:01, the student was on his way to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, where he is recovering. By Monday evening, his parents were at his side.

“Credit goes to all the heroes on campus who made it possible for this story to have a happy ending,” said Neil Garrison, CIA supervisor of environmental health and safety. “In a situation like this, seconds make a big difference, and the prompt action by the chef and students put the chain of survival into motion almost instantly. That allowed Kelly, Carl, and Lyle to quickly respond, then use their training and instincts to save the life of this young man.”