Anesthesia teams are under growing pressure as surgical demand rises, staffing tightens and financial strains mount. Yet their role in driving safety, efficiency and surgical access is more critical than ever. Across the country, anesthesia leaders are urging organizations to recognize the strategic value their teams bring to the entire perioperative system.
Question: If you could send one message to organizational leaders about the value of anesthesia, what would it be?
Editor’s note: These responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Matt Bell, MSN, CRNA. Self-employed CRNA (Morganton, N.C.): Anesthesia isn’t a cost — it’s a catalyst. Strong anesthesia teams drive safety, efficiency and profitability. When CRNAs are supported and compensated fairly, ORs run more smoothly, surgeons stay productive and patients go home safer. Investing in anesthesia is investing in the system’s success.
Brian Cohen, MD. Administrative Chief at Miami Anesthesia Services: Much of anesthesia’s impact happens outside the OR — in preoperative optimization, workflow management, patient flow and recovery. Anesthesia teams influence safety, efficiency and financial performance across the entire perioperative continuum. The OR is where we keep patients alive, but our broader value lies in elevating the system as a whole.
Katy Dean, CRNA. Chief Nurse Anesthetist at TKM Anesthesia (Newport News, Va.): CRNAs are autonomous, highly skilled clinicians who expand organizational capability daily. They drive OR efficiency, stabilize emergencies, support maternal care and elevate outcomes through advanced pain management. Fully utilizing CRNAs strengthens the whole system; underutilizing them leaves critical capacity untapped.
Garo Derparseghian, MD. Anesthesiologist in Montebello (Calif.): Anesthesia is not just a clinical service, it’s the operational backbone of surgical care. Strong anesthesia leadership drives OR efficiency, throughput and patient safety, directly influencing an organization’s mission and financial performance.
Patrick Giam, MD. President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists: High-quality anesthesia care is an investment in the economic engine of hospitals: operating rooms and procedural areas. Anesthesiologists prevent complications, avoid cancellations and reduce readmissions. Highly performing anesthesia teams increase throughput, raise patient satisfaction and attract more surgeons and patients.
Chris Hackney, MD. Anesthesiologist at Emory Specialty Associates (Atlanta): Leaders often rely on high-level metrics, but nothing substitutes for seeing anesthesia in action. Stepping into scrubs and observing OR workflows firsthand reveals how anesthesia directly drives safety, efficiency and surgical capacity.
Antonio Hernandez Conte, MD. Former President of the California Society of Anesthesiologists: Anesthesiology aligns closely with organizational goals of safety and efficiency, but much of its value is invisible. Shadowing anesthesiologists provides leaders essential insight into the expertise required to keep ORs running smoothly. Cutting anesthesia risks burnout, turnover and reliance on costly temporary labor that weakens culture.
Robert Johnstone, MD. Professor of Anesthesiology at West Virginia University (Morgantown): Surgical programs drive hospital profits, and anesthesia quality directly influences their success. High-quality, dependable anesthesia services attract surgeons, support program growth and elevate patient satisfaction. Organizations that invest in anesthesia strengthen both clinical and financial outcomes.
Jake Kessen, CRNA. Vice President of Clinical Operations at Essential Anesthesia Management (Longview, Texas): The true value of an anesthesia partner extends beyond the OR. Flexible, aligned anesthesia teams can transform surgical departments by adapting to daily needs, improving culture and strengthening relationships. In a competitive workforce market, a strong anesthesia-driven culture becomes a defining advantage.
Daniel King, DNP, CRNA. Board Director of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology: Anesthesia’s value is rooted in access, quality, cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and CRNAs deliver all four. As physician pipelines stall, CRNAs remain the only anesthesia professionals growing fast enough to meet workforce demand. Investing in CRNAs ensures safe, equitable anesthesia care across all settings.
Nikola Matson, DNP, CRNA, APRN. Owner at Village Anesthesia (Florida): Anesthesia is a cornerstone of value-based care. CRNAs manage perioperative physiology, pain and critical care, directly influencing outcomes, safety and efficiency. Practicing independently in many states, CRNAs sustain access in rural and underserved areas, stabilize workforce shortages and support resilient care delivery.
Daniel Mesaros, CAA, MMSc. Former President of the American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants: When anesthesia care is delivered by experts, it can appear effortless — and that illusion leads to undervaluation. Behind every smooth, complication-free procedure is an anesthesia professional whose vigilance keeps patients safe and systems stable. The work may be invisible, but it is never replaceable.
Amit Prabhakar, MD. Chief of Anesthesiology at Emory University Hospital Midtown and Winship at Emory Midtown (Atlanta): Anesthesiologists are the architects of perioperative performance. They oversee environments that drive most hospital revenue, set surgical throughput and determine safety and quality standards. Supporting anesthesia leadership is one of the highest-impact ways to strengthen both clinical and financial outcomes.
Gregory Rendelman, CRNA. Department of Veterans Affairs (Lancaster, Pa.): Because anesthesia is so reliable, it can be taken for granted, much like a smooth flight. But that reliability comes from years of training, constant vigilance and immense professional sacrifice. Respecting the expertise behind safe anesthesia care is essential to sustaining the quality patients expect.
Ruth Waterman, MD. Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego Health: Anesthesiologists lead safe, efficient perioperative care, managing complex conditions and coordinating multidisciplinary teams. Workforce shortages, sicker patients and declining reimbursement make the physician-led care-team model more essential than ever. Sustaining it requires meaningful organizational support, including competitive subsidies to ensure stability and preserve access to critical services.
