Whereas, Studies have shown a dramatic reduction in anesthesia mortality rates since the early 1980’s, and due to improved technology and pharmaceuticals and increased education for nurse anesthetists and physician anesthesiologists, anesthesia safety is at an all-time high; and,

Whereas, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist’s (CRNA’s) practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered, including traditional hospital surgical suites, obstetrical delivery rooms, physicians’ offices, ambulatory surgical centers, and medical facilities of the U.S. Military, Public Health Service, and Veterans Administration; and,

Whereas, In rural settings, CRNA’s are the sole anesthesia providers in nearly two thirds of all hospitals, and they are also the main provider of obstetrical anesthesia in the United States, providing millions of mothers pain-free deliveries each year; and,

Whereas, Providing guidance and direction for the nation’s 30,000 CRNA’s is the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, who has been at the forefront of establishing clinical practice standards for the nurse anesthesia profession for more than 70 years; and now therefore be it,