For Immediate Release: Contact: Jennifer Dickie

January 18, 2018Phone: 734-477-0328

Email:

Michigan Nurse Anesthetists Celebrate 150 Years of Providing Quality and Excellence in Anesthesia Care

Detroit, MI—In recognition of their profession’s long history and enduring record of patient safety, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in Michiganand across the countryare celebrating the 19thannual National CRNA Week, January 21-27, 2018, with the unified mantra “Quality and Excellence in Anesthesia Care.”

Established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), National CRNA Week was created to encourage CRNAs to take the opportunity to educate the public about anesthesia safety, questions to ask prior to undergoing surgery, and the benefits of receiving anesthesia care from nurse anesthetists.

“One of the many rewards of being a nurse anesthetist is providing patients with the comfort of knowing that I will be by their side monitoring their vital signs and adjusting their anestheticsto ensure a pain free and safe anesthesia experience,”said Greg Bozimowski, CRNA, DNP, President Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists. “National CRNA Week serves as an opportunity to inform the publicexactly what CRNAs do and who we are.”

Nurse anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses whoadminister more than43 million anesthetics in the United States each year. Practicing in every setting where anesthesia is available, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia professionals in the vast majority of rural hospitals and have been the main provider of anesthesia care to U.S. service men and women on the front lines since World War I.

“I take pride in belonging toa profession that has been at the forefront of anesthesia patientsafety for more than 150 years.CRNAsplay a key role indeveloping trends related to monitoring technology, anesthetic drugs, and standards of care. In fact, due to continuing research and education, anesthesia today is nearly 50 times safer than it was in the 1980s,” said Bozimowski.

The Detroit Mercy Nurse Anesthesia program was founded in 1941 at Mercy College of Detroit making it the oldest program in Michigan. In 2016 it was ranked 10th (of 115 US programs) by US News and World Report.

Admission to the program is highly selective. Applicants represent the true cream of the crop of acute care registered nurses. On average the program receives approximately 200 applications per year for a class size of 22. The average accepted applicant has an undergraduate GPA of 3.70 and 2.5 years of critical care nursing experience.

Detroit Mercy students are currently busy with clinical rotations to a variety of sites around the state. These talented students are also giving back. Nine students in the senior class of 18 have signed on to volunteer to give anesthesia care overseas. They will accompany missions to the Philippines, and Guatemala. Still other destinations are yet to be determined. We are very, very proud of their spirit of giving!

The faculty have been teaching in the program for many years. The program Director, Mike Dosch CRNA PhD has been faculty for 26 years. The three assistant directors also have a long-standing history with Detroit Mercy. Petra Hurt, CRNA MS- 25 years, Greg Bozimowski CRNA DNP-15 years, Andrea Teitel CRNA MS-10 years. Together they have over 100 years of experience as CRNAs and continue to practice clinically to bring the most current techniques and information to the classroom. The faculty has a strong commitment to their professional organization- the Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists (MiANA) having served on it’s board of directors, including 2 presidencies, and multiple committee chairmanships. In addition, Dr. Dosch and Dr. Bozimowskihave published in numerous texts and scientific journals.

The program is moving forward transitioning its curriculum to doctoral education with anticipated start date of 2019. The process has been ongoing for several years to ensure that the diligence will result in a superb curriculum that will satisfy the needs of students, graduate tomorrows anesthesia leaders and promote safe care for patients. To learn more about Detroit Mercy Nurse Anesthesia go to.

About the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Founded in 1931 and located in Park Ridge, Ill., and Washington, D.C., the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is the professional organization representing more than 52,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists across the United States. As advanced practice registered nurses and anesthesia specialists, CRNAs administer approximately 43 million anesthetics to patients in the United States each year and are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America. In some states, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia professionals in nearly 100 percent of rural hospitals. For more information, visit and and follow @aanawebupdates on Twitter.

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