British Delegation Visits Critical Health Systems of North Carolinas Raleigh Practice Center

A delegation of British anesthesia and workforce experts visited Critical Health Systems of North Carolina's Raleigh Practice Center. The delegation observed the practice center as a model for effective use of anesthesia care teams.

Raleigh, NC-A delegation of British anesthesia and workforce experts recently observed staff management at several anesthesia practices in the United States. Along with Cornell University and Emory University, the group visited Critical Health Systems of North Carolinas Raleigh Practice Center at Rex Hospital.
The delegation included Dr. Peter Hutton, President, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Dr. Julia K. Moore, Consultant Anaesthetist and part-time Senior Medical Officer with the UK Department of Health, Dr. G. Smith, Senior Vice- President, Royal College of Anaesthetists, and Glyn Bennett, Workforce Designer, Changing Workforce Programme. This distinguished group is part of an initiative to solve the shortage of anesthesia staff in the UK. Anesthesia teams in the UK are physician (anaesthetist) only, while in the United States they often consist of physicians (anesthesiologists) and nurse anesthetists. According to Dr. Bertram Coffer, Raleigh Practice Center Anesthesiologist, the group was looking at different forms of physician extenders."
   The group visited the Raleigh Practice Center at the urging of Dr. Stephen Thomas, Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Cornell University and Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Dr. Thomas stated that Dr. Coffer and the Raleigh Practice Centers utilization of anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist teams are unique in the country" and using them as a model anesthesiology practice would be beneficial to the visiting group.

About Critical Health Systems of North Carolina

Critical Health Systems of North Carolina is a group of 37 anesthesiologists and 130 nurse anesthetists who specialize in anesthesiology and pain management in four hospitals: Rex Healthcare, Wake Medical Center, Western Wake Medical Center, and Raleigh Community Hospital and two Carolina Pain Consultants pain clinics in North Carolina. For more information please call 919-873-9533.