Doug Ramey, a certified registered nurse anesthetist working at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, recently returned from a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. As Hawaii representative at the Mid-Year Assembly of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Ramey made appointments to see
Doug Ramey, a certified registered nurse anesthetist working at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, recently returned from a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C.
As Hawaii representative at the Mid-Year Assembly of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Ramey made appointments to see both U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, and U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands, to discuss national issues concerning nurse anesthesia.
But, he ended up spending over an hour with each of the men, talking more about the Kauai economy, lifestyle and local issues, said Ramey, a Kalaheo resident.
“I was really impressed by both Case’s and Akaka’s true interest in what I had to say,” Ramey said.
Issues of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists association include assuring education money is available, working for medical malpractice reform, opposing mandatory anesthesiologist assistants in VA and Military TRICARE, and working to get funding for new, incentive pay increases for military CRNAs.
“Most of these issues were new to Congressman Case, but he seemed to understand the importance of each issue,” said Ramey.
