H.R. No. 1181

	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 House of Representatives 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.
	Oliverson