| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, In the early 1960s, leaders in the medical specialty |
|
|
of anesthesiology recognized the existence of staffing shortages, |
|
|
and to meet growing demands and accommodate the increasing |
|
|
complexity of anesthesia and surgery, a group of anesthesiologists |
|
|
proposed the precursor to what is now the health care occupation of |
|
|
certified anesthesiologist assistant; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Certified anesthesiologist assistants are highly |
|
|
skilled health professionals who work under the direction of |
|
|
licensed physician anesthesiologists to implement anesthesia care |
|
|
plans and work exclusively within the Anesthesia Care Team model, |
|
|
as described by the American Society of Anesthesiologists; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, All CAA students must have earned a baccalaureate |
|
|
degree with premedical coursework to be admitted into a CAA |
|
|
training program and must complete a comprehensive didactic and |
|
|
clinical program at the graduate level; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, CAA training programs must also include a minimum of |
|
|
24 months in a master's level program accredited by the Commission |
|
|
on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and must be |
|
|
based at, or work in collaboration with, a university that has a |
|
|
medical school and academic anesthesiologist physician faculty; as |
|
|
part of their CAA training, students are typically required to |
|
|
successfully complete an average of 600 hours of classroom and |
|
|
laboratory education and 2,600 hours of clinical anesthesia |
|
|
education; they are also required to administer a total of more than |
|
|
600 anesthetics and to gain experience in all types of surgery; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Certified anesthesiologist assistants are trained |
|
|
extensively in the delivery and maintenance of quality anesthesia |
|
|
care as well as advanced patient monitoring techniques; they |
|
|
perform tasks such as administering drugs, obtaining vascular |
|
|
access, applying and interpreting monitors, establishing and |
|
|
maintaining patient airways, and assisting with preoperative |
|
|
assessment; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 2010, Dr. Carin Hagberg, in her role as the chief |
|
|
of anesthesiology for The University of Texas Health Science Center |
|
|
at Houston, developed a partnership with Case Western Reserve |
|
|
University to start a CAA program in Houston; it received initial |
|
|
accreditation in 2010 from the Commission on Accreditation of |
|
|
Allied Health Education Programs and the Accreditation Review |
|
|
Committee for the Anesthesiologist Assistant; that same year, 16 |
|
|
graduate students were enrolled in the program, and they completed |
|
|
their studies in 2012; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 2019, under the guidance of program director |
|
|
Kenneth Maloney, CAA, the Case Western Reserve University |
|
|
Anesthesiologist Assistant Program expanded to provide clinical |
|
|
rotations in Central Texas at Baylor Scott and White Health in North |
|
|
Austin; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Certified anesthesiologist assistants currently |
|
|
provide anesthesia within an anesthesia care team at many major |
|
|
hospitals in Texas, including the Heart Hospital of Austin, Baylor |
|
|
Scott and White Health, Children's Medical Center Dallas, Methodist |
|
|
Hospital, Memorial Hermann Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, Memorial |
|
|
Hermann Southwest, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, Memorial |
|
|
Hermann Sugar Land, St. David's Hospital System in Austin, and |
|
|
Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Certified anesthesiologist assistants practice in |
|
|
19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territory of Guam; |
|
|
they also practice within the Medicare system and provide |
|
|
anesthesia services for a multitude of medical procedures every |
|
|
year in the United States; they have practiced in Texas since 1997, |
|
|
when Dr. John Zerwas of Greater Houston Anesthesiology brought them |
|
|
into the practice to address the shortage in anesthesia providers; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Texas Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants is |
|
|
dedicated to the ethical advancement of the CAA profession and to |
|
|
creating a better future through innovation, cutting-edge |
|
|
medicine, advocacy, and education; the academy is ably led by |
|
|
president Tasha Krueger, CAA, Tim Goodridge, CAA, and secretary |
|
|
Thao Nguyen, CAA, as well as board members Frank Trzaska, CAA, Jana |
|
|
McAllister, CAA, and Paul McHorse, CAA; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Certified anesthesiologist assistants have |
|
|
dedicated their careers to serving the citizens of Texas, and they |
|
|
are indeed deserving of special commendation; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby recognize the week of February 20 through February 24, 2023, |
|
|
as Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant Week in Texas and encourage |
|
|
residents of the Lone Star State to pay tribute to these invaluable |
|
|
professionals. |