From the NPR article: "The scene is now familiar to many: Lorraine Bayless, 87, was barely breathing at Glenwood Gardens independent living facility in Bakersfield, Calif." It looks like CPR would indeed have been inappropriate.

In any case, when you administer CPR, there are only seconds left in the fourth quarter, and you are throwing a hail Mary. Your victim is probably going to die, unless they are dead already. That has been my experience in the two real world situations where I have given CPR.

My CERT trainer, a highly experienced fire captain, said that of the 300 or so CPR situations in which he was involved, only seven were significant saves (the victim walked out of the hospital.

Speaking of which, my CERT training is that in a mass casualty situation (multiple victims), administration of CPR is not contemplated. You essentially separate the quick and the dead, treating massive bleeding and similar cases rather than devote disproportionate resources to those not breathing. It was a bit of a shock to me to confront this strategy, but it does make sense. i hope I never have to follow it.