Michigan Anesthetists will celebrate World Anesthesia Day

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Health officials will celebrate World Anesthesia Day as it commemorates the first successful use of anesthesia,

The Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists (MANA) is recognizing the holiday on Sunday, Oct. 16. The day celebrates when doctors in 1846 at Massachusetts General Hospital demonstrated the use of ether, which is a colorless liquid used as an anesthetic, for the first time on a patient.

Read: First public observatory is open in West Michigan

According to MANA, Michigan has one of the highest numbers of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) nationally. The United States has more than 49,000 CRNAs and they deliver around 40 million anesthetics to patients each year.

Lisa Mueller is the president of MANA, and she said they are proud to provide essential care to Michbignaders.

“Our main mission is to achieve a safe anesthesia experience and quality outcome for every patient. As CRNAs, we collaborate with every single member of the patient care team, and are responsible for the patient before, during, and after their anesthesia,” said Mueller. “Because of this, we’re not only able to successfully achieve our mission, but ensure that every patient feels safe and comfortable every step of the way.”

MANA stated that anesthesia care is 50 times safer than it was 30 years ago as every day 60,000 Americans undergo anesthesia, according to experts.

“We have come a very long way since anesthesia was administered for the first time in 1896,” said Mueller. “That day made it possible for patients to undergo surgery without the torture of pain previously associated with it. Today, we are specially trained to know the exact dosage a patient should have based on age, medical history, weight, and other factors. It is a critical role in healthcare, and we are excited to celebrate on October 16.”

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