Captain Dale Becker, a Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services’ paramedic, was recognized last week as one of the top ten emergency medical services (EMS) innovators in the country by Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS).

The 16 year veteran to the Department was honored for his continued work to advance the method in which emergency medical crews administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

According to Fox 45,

During the past year, Captain Becker formed and implemented an initiative to train every provider in Howard County with high-performance CPR. As a measure of Captain Becker’s efforts, cardiac arrest survival rates for victims of sudden cardiac arrests in Howard County have more than doubled the survival rate from 19% to 38%.

“This is an outstanding example of the commitment to innovation and excellence that our firefighters and paramedics continually aspire to,” said County Executive Ken Ulman.