Daniel Inouye: “I commend military certified registered nurse anesthetists, CRNAs. CRNAs are advanced practice nurses who administer…”

“I commend military certified registered nurse anesthetists, CRNAs. CRNAs are advanced practice nurses who administer anesthesia. Today, CRNAs administer approximately 65 percent of the anesthetics given to patients each year for all types of surgical cases in the United States. Nurse anesthetists have been the principal anesthesia providers in combat areas in every war in which the United States has been engaged since World War I. In World War II, there were 17 nurse anesthetists to every 1 physician anesthetist. In Vietnam, the ratio of CRNAs to physician anesthetists was approximately 3 to 1. During the Panama strike authorized in 1989, only CRNAs were sent with the fighting forces. In addition, the vast majority of anesthesia providers deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom has been CRNAs. Nurse anesthetists are again carrying the load by providing 80 percent of the anesthesia requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan. We rely heavily on CRNAs to accomplish wartime missions and our need for their services will only increase in the future. In all of the uniformed services, maintaining adequate numbers of Active Duty and Reserve CRNAs is of utmost concern. For several years, the number of CRNAs serving on active duty has fallen somewhat short of the number authorized by the Department of Defense. This lag in recruitment has been further exacerbated by a strong demand for CRNAs in both the public and private sectors.”