A Patterson man who is the quality improvement coordinator for the Safety Management Systems Training Academy has been appointed to the Louisiana Emergency Medical Services Task Force and elected chairman of the EMS Certification Commission.

Doyle Dennis, who has 21 years of EMS experience and has helped write several EMS textbooks, was given the honors.

As a member of the task force, he along with other members, will advise the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals on matters related to emergency medical services. The EMS commission establishes standards for out-of-hospital care and educational programs and regulates the scope of practice for EMS professionals.

“This appointment recognizes Doyle’s longstanding dedication to emergency medical services," said Scott Domingue, president of Safety Management Systems. "We’re very proud of all he has done at SMS and know he will serve the commission and the state well.”

Dennis said he was honored to be named to these positions.

“I see it as an opportunity to improve and ensure quality care within EMS for the great state of Louisiana,” Dennis said.

Dennis, a graduate of Terrebonne High School and South Louisiana Community College’s paramedic program, lives in Patterson with his wife, Rhonda Raymond Dennis, an author of romance suspense novels that revolve around EMS in Louisiana.