WASHINGTON, DC--Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson today presented three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees with the Chief Medical Officer Life Saving Award, which recognizes Department personnel who have taken action in order to save a life. Secretary Johnson was joined at the ceremony by Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kathryn Brinsfield to honor U.S. Secret Service Officers Daniel Martz and Fernandez Blackshear and U.S. Coast Guard Health Services Technician First Class (HS1) Jonathan Edwards.
In March, these three DHS medics responded to a request for medical assistance in the East Room of the White House, where an individual was unconscious and unresponsive. Upon determining that the patient did not have a pulse, Officer Blackshear started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and requested the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), while Officer Martz requested the White House Medical Unit and ambulance.
Arriving with the White House Medical Unit and working as a member of the response team, HS1 Edwards established and maintained the patient’s airway. During this time, a second shock was delivered by the AED and a faint pulse was detected. The patient was transported to the hospital where he later made a full recovery.
“In homeland security, very often no news is good news. It may also mean that someone did something truly extraordinary that we don't always recognize,” said Secretary Johnson during his remarks at the ceremony. “Each and every day in the Department of Homeland Security, one of our colleagues is doing something extraordinary. Today we take the time to acknowledge three of them for their dedication, outstanding heroism, and quick thinking.”
Working with first responders is an important part of DHS’s mission, and the Department’s first responders deliver care to individuals in danger, often at great risk to themselves. To date, the Department has awarded 41 individuals with the Chief Medical Officer Life Saving Award; recipients include Federal Law Enforcement Training Center instructors, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, members of the U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Secret Service officers.
SOURCE: Department of Homeland Security