'Building leaders from the ground up': Jewish scouts from NY, NJ perform life-saving CPR on cross-nation flight

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A scout is supposed to always be prepared, and two teenagers from the Tri-State area put that principle into action earlier this month when they helped save the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest on their cross-country flight.

Evan Gilder, a leader with the National Jewish Scouting Committee, was bringing 10 young scouts home on to New York on July 11. The group had been on a backpacking trip in New Mexico and were aboard a Southwest Airlines flight when the medical emergency began.

“Midway through the flight, you know, they make an announcement on the loud system,” Gilder told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “‘Does anybody have any medical training that’s on the flight?’”

When Gilder was called upon to perform CPR on the man, he enlisted help from two trained 16-year-olds, one of which was an Eagle Scout.

“I'm like, OK, get to the front of the plane, OK? You’re going to be asked to do CPR,” Gilder said. “And without hesitation, they just, everybody just did what they were asked.”

CPR requires performing consistent and forceful chest compressions, and is so tiring that it can only be sustained for a few minutes at a time. Gilder and the boys formed a chain with medical professionals on the flight to keep the compressions going for 45 minutes as the plane made way for an emergency landing in Pittsburgh.

“We always say you have to be prepared for whatever life throws your way,” Gilder said. “Training helps you be prepared. These kids were prepared.”

The man, in his sixties, was breathing and stabilized by the time the wheels hit the runway.

“And this is why I believe in the scouting program, because we’re building leaders from the ground up.”