All Pawtucket All The Time

PAWTUCKET- Ceremonies for the 45^th graduation of the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island School of Nurse Anesthesia Program took place on October 24 in the hospital’s Medical Staff Auditorium. Hospital administration, staff, family and friends were on hand to honor the nine graduates.

This year’s graduates are: Rhonda Brassil of Lowell, MA; David Dawson of Cumberland, RI; Mark Edlefsen of American Falls, ID; Barrett Gardner of Blackfoot, ID; Jimmy Garrett of Atlanta, GA; Cheryl Langford of Berkley, MA; Rebecca Mauck of Rhame, ND; Amy Moor of North Dartmouth, MA; and Scott Ohler of Elizabethtown, KY.

Mark A. Foster, CRNA, MA, Director of Memorial’s School of Nurse Anesthesia Program, recognized the accomplishments of the nine nurse anesthetists. He noted how the graduates devoted the past 29 months to a comprehensive didactic and clinical curriculum, earning a Master of Science Degree in Biological Sciences/Anesthesia.

Mr. Foster told the graduates the following, “Learn from each case and remain vigilant. In doing so, you will make the most significant contribution possible. Continue learning, be confident and committed to your work, because it takes commitment to do anything well.”

Mr. Foster also thanked the following individuals who supported the program: Peter Baziotis, MD, Anesthesiologist-in-Chief and Medical Director of the School of Nurse Anesthesia; anesthesiologists with Anesthesia Care; Ruth Rollin, PhD, academic coordinator of Central Connecticut State University; Keith Macksoud and Anne Tierney, CRNA Faculty; the surgeons and staff in the Operating Room, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Surgical Place Recovery Unit; Pulmonary Function Lab at Memorial Hospital and Notre Dame Ambulatory Care Center; Cyndi Hannaway, secretary for the Department of Anesthesia; and the clinical coordinators and adjunct faculty at the following clinical sites – Susan Roessle, CRNA from St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, MA, Erin O’Brien, CRNA from Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA and Helen Geigenmiller, CRNA from Kent Hospital in Warwick, RI.

Cumberland resident David Dawson, on behalf of the graduates, thanked the administration and the Anesthesia Department’s faculty and staff for their support.