The Kansas Health Foundation awarded the Newman University nurse anesthesia program a $50,000 grant to help further the program’s curriculum.
Program Director Megan Cook said, “I am extremely grateful to the Kansas Health Foundation for their generous grant to the nurse anesthesia program at Newman. In a trying year where the Foundation has denoted much of their grant money to COVID-related issues and needs, they still gave generously to our program.”
Newman’s nurse anesthesia program is one of only two programs offered in the state of Kansas and one of only 121 in the United States.
According to the Kansas Health Foundation, “This (grant) will ensure that Kansas will not lose 40% of its annual certified registered nurse anesthetists (currently educated at Newman University). Nurse anesthetists are the sole anesthesia providers in nearly all rural Kansas hospitals, and their abilities are desperately needed to continue care for the medically underserved.”
Nurse anesthetists administer approximately 65% of the 26 million anesthetics given to patients in the U.S. each year and have many opportunities for general or specialty practice throughout the U.S.
Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are one of the best-paid nursing specialties, reporting an average annual salary of $164,000 in 2020. Because the Newman CRNA program is so thorough, its graduates are held in high regard and find they are in great demand in the job market. Currently, there is a 12% vacancy rate for nurse anesthesia positions.
The nurse anesthesia program is expected to transition to an accredited doctoral program in the year 2021. This will be Newman University’s first doctoral program on campus.
“Newman University CRNA alumni provide valuable medical care for Kansas residents, both urban and rural. We are proud of the way Newman nurse anesthesia graduates give back to our state and communities,” said Cook.
“I look forward to continuing this mission long into the future, and this grant helps ensure that.”
