[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 78 (Friday, June 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS (AANA) ON 
                         THEIR 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BEN CHANDLER

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 15, 2006

  Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute today to an outstanding 
group of representatives from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the 
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) on their 75th 
anniversary of their founding, as well as the Certified Registered 
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) for their dedication to quality anesthesia 
care and patient safety. CRNAs are advanced practice nurses who are the 
hands-on providers of approximately 65 percent of all anesthesia given 
in the United States each year.
  Nurses were the first professional group to provide anesthesia 
services in the United States. Established in the late 1800s, nurse 
anesthesia has since become recognized as the first clinical nursing 
specialty. On June 17, 1931, pioneer nurse anesthetist Agatha Hodgins 
founded the National Association of Nurse Anesthetists (NANA) in 
Cleveland, Ohio. Eight years later, NANA officially changed its name to 
the present AANA. The oldest national organization of anesthesia 
providers in the country, the AANA is the professional association for 
more than 35,000 CRNAs and student nurse anesthetists.
  CRNAs administer every type of anesthetic and provide care for every 
type of surgery or procedure, from open heart to cataract to pain 
management. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is 
delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical 
delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; 
the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic 
surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. Military, Public 
Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare 
facilities.
  CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers in approximately two thirds 
of all rural hospitals in the United States, enabling these healthcare 
facilities to offer obstetrical, surgical, and trauma stabilization 
services. In some states, CRNAs are the sole providers in nearly 100 
percent of the rural hospitals.
  Since World War I, nurse anesthetists have been the principal 
anesthesia providers in combat areas of every war in which the United 
States has been engaged. During the Panama action, only nurse 
anesthetists were sent with the fighting forces. Nurse anesthetists 
have been held as prisoners of war, suffered combat wounds during 
wartime service, and have lost their lives serving their country. The 
names of two CRNAs killed in the Vietnam War are engraved on the 
Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC. Military nurse anesthetists 
have been honored and decorated by the United States and foreign 
governments for outstanding achievements, dedication to duty, and 
competence in treating the seriously wounded. In the 21st Century, 
CRNAs continue to care for servicemen and women, their dependents, and 
veterans--whether on the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan, or in 
military hospitals and VA facilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the 
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA and their 35,000 
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) as they celebrate 75 
years of invaluable service to their patients and to our country.

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