UNC Anesthesiology is proud to recognize its own talented, dedicated team of nurse anesthetists among the 61,000+ CRNAs across the U.S. who are transformative advanced practice providers in peri-op settings and anesthesia care!  For over 150 years, CRNAs nationwide have administer more than 50 million anesthetics annually. At UNC, the CRNAs perform half of the anesthetics across the system and are instrumental in the training of future CRNAs.

UNC CRNA Chief Aaron Lemmon noted: “Over the past year, our team has battled back from significant staffing shortages to facilitate record surgical volume within the institution. Despite this increase in [case] volume, UNC’s CRNAs remain staunch patient advocates, upholding patient safety above all else. As we pause to recognize National CRNA Week, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the care that my team provides our patients during some of their most vulnerable times.  I am honored and humbled to be part of the leadership team of such an esteemed group of professionals.”

UNC Anesthesiology Interim Chair Tony Passannante, MD, added: “Our physicians and our staff are proud to call our CRNAs colleagues. As a team, UNC Health’s nurse anesthetists are a cornerstone of the department and are essential to the delivery of safe and quality anesthesia care here at UNC. We are grateful to work side-by-side with some of the very best and thank them for their outstanding contributions to our department and our patients.”

To learn more about the 150-year-old history of CRNAs, visit the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)’s “About CRNAs” page.