The Alabama Association of Nurse Anesthetists (ALANA) stands with the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in objecting to the pause in the access to monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 patients in Alabama.
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) not only provide anesthesia care for COVID-19 patients, but as airway experts, intubate patients in Alabama and across the United States when the condition of the patient deteriorates to the point of requiring mechanical ventilation in order to stay alive.
“With over 2,000 patients still hospitalized in Alabama, and an intensive care bed shortfall, any treatment that is available to patients with COVID that would deflect or deter the need for our services should be implemented without delay,” stated Willie Furr, DNP, CRNA, ALANA president.
The ALANA is an organization that strives for access to quality health care and we hope the voices of health care providers are heard. Patients need access to hospitals for treatment for other disease processes beyond just COVID, and thus, any proven treatment for COVID that may keep them from hospitalization or becoming seriously ill should be pursued with vigor.
