Zachary Pushee has taught CPR for six years, and in the last six months he’s taken it on the road.

Pushee and his wife, Katherine, started Maine Mobile CPR in February with the goal of traveling statewide to teach American Heart Association CPR for certification or re-certification at schools and workplaces, bringing the classroom to them.

Since it’s the height of summer, we also had to ask: What would he take with him if he was stranded on a deserted island, forced to take a break from saving lives?

Well, the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” to start.

Name: Zachary Pushee

Age: 33

Lives: Lewiston

When and why did you first learn CPR? I first learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in high school, at Oxbow High School in Vermont. I was in a vocational program, Emergency Services, though Riverbend Career and Technical School. There I received my first-responders and EMT-Basic. Learning CPR was a requirement for both licenses.

Ever had to use it in an emergency? When I was in EMS, I used my CPR training multiple times, in various settings. My first time was on a middle-aged gentleman on the side of the road on a sidewalk. He was out for a walk and had called 911 because he was having chest pain. When I arrived with the local FAST Squad, CPR had been started. We were able to get him back and transport him to the hospital. He walked out of the hospital days later.

How did Maine Mobile CPR get its start? My wife, Katherine, worked at the Maine College of Health Professions as an adjunct clinical instructor. She noticed that a lot of students had a hard time finding a CPR class. . . . She knew that I had been an instructor for several years and only using it occasionally, and as a paramedic that I had experience in providing CPR. She thought that I should do something with it, and that is how Maine Mobile CPR got its start.

What’s an early challenge of starting your first business? Getting the business name out there and letting people know that this business existed.

An early reward? A couple of weeks after doing a class in a Portland nursing home, the staff had to provide CPR on a gentleman and was able to get him back before EMS arrived.

What do you think people’s relationship is like with CPR? Is the idea of springing into action heavy with responsibility or powerful? I believe that people have a hard time with CPR, but it is worth knowing. You never know when someone is going to need it, but when they do it’s good to have someone around that knows how to do CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).

I believe that performing high-quality CPR is both heavy with responsibility and can be a powerful experience. We want to make sure that CPR is being performed correctly because if it is not, it will not be as effective as it could be. Also, it can be a powerful experience doing it and seeing someone come back alive, but also be prepared that they may not.

You’re stranded on a deserted Maine island this summer with your American Heart Association handbook and three other books, albums or movies to pass the time. What’s on the island with you?

1. Piers Anthony’s “Incarnations of Time” book series — I love this series. It deals with the adventures and struggles of a group of humans called “Incarnations” who hold these supernatural offices (Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, Good and Night) and gives a unique take behind the scenes of how life works.

2. The original “Star Wars” trilogy — One of the best movie trilogies out there, no way I could go without this.

3. “Dumb and Dumber” — One of the best comedies, it is endlessly rewatchable and infinitely quotable.

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