A medical doctor, in the 1950s Safar developed a new life-saving technique that could be used by anyone: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. “He was a firm believer that it was something that the masses needed to learn,” said Dr. Patrick Kochanek, director of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh, which Safar established (as the International Resuscitation Research Center) in 1979.
For Safar, however, CPR was not an end to itself, but part of a comprehensive system for pre-hospital care: he also helped design ambulances, helped establish training procedures for EMTs and paramedics, and established one of the country’s first comprehensive hospital intensive care units. He died August 3 from cancer at home in Pittsburgh. He was 79.
Note: There’s much more about Safar and his role in creating The First Paramedics in my blog.