ASA president and former VA chief call for public support to protect safe VA care

ASA President Randall M. Clark, M.D., FASA, and Gurdev Rai, M.D., president of the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists and former VA chief of anesthesiology, took to the airwaves in 18 interviews with television and radio stations nationwide. They asked Americans to protect safe VA care by stopping the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposal to eliminate anesthesiologists from the surgical team and replace them with nurses.

More than 31 segments have aired, reaching an estimated audience of 15.7 million. Placements include:

• WBFF-BAL [FOX] (Baltimore): Protecting Veterans' Health Care
• WTKR-TV [CBS] (Norfolk, Va.): Health Care for Veterans on Coast Live
• KRLD-AM (Dallas): Will a new VA proposal put Veterans in danger?
• KRQE-TV (Albuquerque, N.M.):
  • Working to keep health care for veterans
  • WTLV-TV/WJXX-TV [ABC/NBC] (Jacksonville, Fla.): A proposed change to VA’s standard of anesthesia care
• News Channel Nebraska: Connecting the Dots