Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) from Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently traveled to Kenya to attend the inaugural Pan African Nurse Anesthetists Conference. The VUMC group raised about $34,000 to enable the trip while sponsoring 27 Africans to also attend the meeting.
The conference, which took place June 18-20 in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together non-physician anesthesia providers from 18 different countries in Africa for continued education and networking. The purpose was to reduce maternal mortality by improving safe access to anesthesia for pregnant women across Africa.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Kenya, more than 80% of maternal deaths are attributed to poor quality of care. By increasing access to training, medical supplies and educated professionals, Vanderbilt professionals have been working to change that, said Brent Dunworth, CRNA, DNP, MBA, associate nurse executive for Advanced Practice at VUMC.
Dunworth noted that VUMC clinicians have been working in Kenya for about two decades, creating curriculum and training nurse anesthetists to address the maternal mortality crisis. This work was founded by Mark Newton, MD, professor of Anesthesiology, and has resulted in the minting of nearly 500 anesthesia nurses in a sustainable model with an exceptional reputation of quality care delivery. The African nurse anesthetists are often the sole anesthetic providers in their rural facilities.
Vanderbilt representatives and others began planning the conference in 2018. The original date was to be in 2020, but it was delayed until this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our successes at Vanderbilt in advanced practice, which are many and award-winning and laudable, extend far beyond Middle Tennessee,” Dunworth said. “We have now taken those gifts halfway around the globe, and we are privileged to be able to share our expertise.”
The conference resulted in the formation of the African Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and a movement is underway to create a standard curriculum for nurse anesthetists throughout the continent in coordination with the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.
Several of the Department of Anesthesiology’s CRNAs were involved in planning the conference and traveled to Nairobi to lecture and lead workshops, including Dunworth, Jill Moore, CRNA, MS; Michael Leersnyder, CRNA, DNAP; Casey Balthazar, CRNA, DNAP; and Heather Larson, CRNA, MS.
Faculty members included Greg Sund, MD, adjoint associate professor of Anesthesiology; Mark Newton, MD; professor of Anesthesiology; and Matt Kynes, MD, associate professor of Anesthesiology. Two of the department’s trainees, who are participating in an elective rotation in nearby Kijabe, Kenya, also attended: Hollie Humphries, MD, and Julian Rios, MD.
Many members of the Department of Anesthesiology contributed financially to the conference’s success. Thanks to the generosity of these donors, Vanderbilt International Anesthesia was able to award travel scholarships to 27 participants from 10 African countries to attend the conference.
“Fundraising efforts were infectious as our CRNA divisions competed to see which group could raise the most money to support this inaugural conference,” said Amadna Dickert, DNAP, CRNA, assistant professor of Clinical Anesthesiology. “Our CRNAs offered generous donations and volunteered to organize chili cook-offs, bake sales, raffles and silent auctions. This initiative provided numerous meaningful ways to participate in impactful global work, even for those unable to travel across the globe.”
