SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — After more than 40 years in the medical field, Dr. Brad Schwartz is embarking on a new mission: to teach a million people how to perform bystander CPR. Schwartz, an emergency room doctor and a teacher for EMS workers at American Medical Response, is known for his wide-ranging expertise, including training lifeguards to treat shark bites.
Dr. Schwartz believes the best way to improve healthcare on a large scale is through community-wide initiatives.
ABC 10News reporter Moses Small asked Schwartz what keeps him going decade after decade.
"I think to improve the healthcare on a population-large basis. Individual patients, I enjoy taking care of. But I see you can make a bigger impact by doing these things community-wide," he says.
The CPR programs led by Dr. Schwartz have already reached more than 200,000 people.
His approach is straightforward.
"100 beats a minute. That’s all you need to do. You don’t need to breathe for people anymore. So anybody can do this. There’s no reason not to do it, you learned it like that. Done," he says.
Dr. Schwartz emphasizes the importance of immediate CPR in the event of cardiac arrest, stating that the survival rate is 90% if CPR is administered within a minute.
Don Sullivan, an EMS worker, added, "With a million people trained, we have a better opportunity for more people to get more hands on that chest. Otherwise, within six minutes, the brain starts to die."
Teaching CPR is just the latest chapter in a medical story that's far from over for Dr. Schwartz.
"When it seems like there's an easy solution to a problem, I'm just drive to fix it," he says.
As recognition for his impactful work, Dr. Schwartz has been awarded the ABC 10News Leadership Award for Jan. 2025.
If you'd like to nominate someone for the leadership award, follow this link.
