Overdose Awareness Day: A Personal Story for Advocacy
“Hon?” “I’m in a meeting, is this important?” “Where is the extra Narcan?” “What? Wait what do you mean, what is going on?” “I think C overdosed. I gave him the Narcan you gave this morning before you left for your meeting. He’s breathing now, but not waking up”. “You have to call 911, you […]
Neuromonitoring and Anesthesia: Why is it important to understand your EEG monitor?
By Niti Pawar, MD, and Odmara Barreto Chang, MD, PhD History of Neuromonitoring The use of intraoperative electroencephalogram (EEG) dates back to 1937 when Dr. Gibbs and colleagues demonstrated that there were clinical and electroencephalogram (EEG) changes with increasing anesthetic doses, noting that “a practical application of these observations might be the use of EEG […]
Protecting Patient Safety: Invest in California’s Anesthesia Future with the Day of Contributing!
By Dr. Todd Primack, Chair, Legislative and Practice Affairs Division, CSA As anesthesiologists, we are the cornerstone of safe patient care. We dedicate our careers to providing the highest standard of care, ensuring optimal patient outcomes before, during, and after surgery. However, this commitment is constantly challenged. This year alone, we faced legislation that threatened […]
CSA’s Fight On Behalf of Patient Safety
By Todd Primack, DO, FASA, Chair, Legislative and Practice Affairs Division CSA leadership is engaged in an effort at the state and local levels concerning the delivery of anesthesia services in the San Joaquin Valley. Recent investigations by the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services demonstrated that patients were […]
ASAPAC’s 2024 Day of Contributing (DoC) Challenge is Almost Here: Thursday, June 27!!
By Jeff Poage, MD, CSA Past President and ASAPAC Board Member In the vast realm of US healthcare, anesthesiologists stand as pillars of expertise, utilizing our skills to alleviate pain and safely navigate our patients through often stressful perioperative experiences. From routine ambulatory procedures to more complex in- patient surgeries, our commitment to patient safety […]
Advocacy Update
By Todd Primack, DO, FASA, Chair, Legislative & Practice Affairs Division This has been an extremely busy year for CSA as we have engaged in legislative and regulatory efforts on multiple fronts. This communication will attempt to catch you up on several recent developments: defeating legislation that would have recognized “Nurse Anesthesiologist Week”; unsupervised CRNA […]
CSA Foundation for Education: Supporting the Future of Anesthesiology and Healthcare in California
By Mark Zakowski, MD, FASA, Chair, CSA Foundation for Education Board of Directors The CSA Foundation for Education was first envisioned several years ago under the presidency of Dr. Jim Moore and established with the persistent leadership of Dr. Karen Sibert. The CSA Foundation for Education was established as a separate charitable entity to support […]
2024 ASA Legislative Conference
By Christine Doyle, MD, CHCI, FASA – ASA Director and Antonio Hernandez Conte, MD. MBA, FASA – CSA President On May 14th, twenty members of the CSA (including 4 residents) started a three-day marathon at the annual ASA D.C. Legislative Conference. Each of the attendees visited multiple offices with our first meetings on Monday morning […]
Haitian Heritage Month
By Natacha Telusca, MD, MPH Haitian Heritage Month, observed in May, is a commemoration of Haitian history, culture, and pride. It is particularly significant for those of us of Haitian descent in the United States as a way to honor and acknowledge our native roots, along with the significant contributions Haitian-Americans have made to society. […]