For years, fewer than one in 10 people in Escambia County survived a cardiac arrest. By this year, that number was closer to four in 10. The shift happened quickly, in less than a year. Officials said the improvement reflected sweeping changes in training, accountability and response protocols. They said those changes had turned resuscitation from a rare success into a more frequent outcome.
At the center of the turnaround was Dr. Ben Abo, the county’s medical director for public safety, who began his role last April.
“We went from 9.2%, which is half of the national average, to double the national average. So we’ve quadrupled,” said Abo…