Dr. Oz Tends to Woman at Mall Who Collapsed During His Show

Dr. Mehmet Oz rushed to the aid of a woman who collapsed inside a Florida mall on Thursday morning where she was attending his "The Good Life" presentation.

Oz went into doctor mode at The Avenues Mall in Jacksonville, Florida, when during his presentation some people watching on the second level of the mall witnessed a woman faint and yelled, "We need a doctor. This isn't a joke," reported WJXT-TV. The television station said "The Dr. Oz Show" host climbed over a railing behind his stage to the staircase to reach the woman.

"By the time I got up there, they had surrounded her," said Oz, adding that he took her pulse and listened to her heart. "They witnessed her fall. She fell forward without resisting at all. She didn't just faint slowly, she went out. … I didn't hear anything crazy happening there."

Jacksonville Fire Rescue told First Coast News that Oz attended to the woman until paramedics arrived to treat her and she was eventually taken to a hospital.

"The ABC's of resuscitating someone is making sure their airways are open and that they are breathing and then a pulse," Oz said after paramedics took charge of the woman's care. "Which is what everyone should get from this: Go get a first aid class, it's the simplest thing you can do and you can save lives. Most people die in front of their family."

Oz, a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon who has won an Emmy Award for is daytime talk show, continued his presentation at the mall after the incident, noted WJXT-TV. The presentation focused on healthy lifestyle tips.

Oz has been under fire from other doctors, with one group calling on Columbia University's medical school, where Oz holds the surgery department's vice chairmanship, to fire him, according to the Washington Post.

He also received blistering criticism from U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill last year during a hearing on Capitol Hill where she criticized him for his comments on some weight loss products.

"I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves," Oz said in answering the critics who called for his firing. "We provide multiple points of view, including mine, which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts."

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