The American Society of Anesthesiologists announced today that, due to the devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 Annual Meeting will not be held in New Orleans. The ASA is exploring alternative venues that will fit within the pre-selected meeting dates. Any OSA member planning on attending the ASA Annual Meeting should consult the ASA website for updates. The OSA will post periodic updates as well, both in regards to the meeting as well as some options for supporting relief efforts.

The Haugen Lecture and Fall Business Meeting of the Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists is rapidly approaching. Please read on to learn more about the program and make plans to join us for a great day in Lake Oswego.

The state of Oregon has established a website that lists quality data for Oregon hospitals covering a number of indicators. These include volume and mortality data for a variety of surgical and medical conditions such as pneumonia, hip fracture, CABG, and angioplasty. Both state and national averages are listed and links to comments provided by Oregon hospitals on the findings are available for review. Please take a look! 2004 Oregon Hospital Quality Indicators

The Malignant Hyperthermia Association of North America (MHAUS) has announced two writing award to be announced at the ASA Annual Meeting in New Orleans this October. If you are a resident, fellow or completed your residency within the past five years and have a contribution to make on Malignant Hyperthermia, please read the press release from MHAUS to learn how you may be able to receive a monetary award for your work.

Roger Klein and OSA President Angela Kendrick recently published a terrific book called "The History of Anesthesia in Oregon." If you donate to the Wendell C. Stevens Memorial Fund, you can receive an autographed copy of this book. For those who did not know Dr. Stevens, he was the chair at OHSU before Dr. Kingston. He passed away in 2003.

Please read this pdf document if you would like to attend the book signing and Wine and Cheese reception at OHSU on June 24. Mark your calendars!

This past weekend, the Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists hosted its annual Spring Meeting at Salishan. Speakers included ASA's Vice President for Professional Affairs Alexander Hannenberg, OHSU bariatric surgeon Clifford Deveney, Portland pain specialist Stuart Rosenblum, and financial consultant Nancy Rangila. In addition to the educational series, the OSA held a business meeting and OSA President-elect John Evans and his wife Maryam hosted a wine tasting social event at their beautiful home overlooking the Pacific.

Our friends in Colorado have extended an invitation to all ASA members, especially those in the Western states, to join them for a meeting in Vail on August 5-8, 2005. In addition to an excellent CME lecture and workshop series, the Colorado Society is also offering an ASA Spokesperson Training Session on Friday August 5. For details, please download the PDF brochure for the meeting. So if you are looking for an excuse to enjoy the Rockies this summer, this just might be your ticket.

This is the ASA Centennial Year, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists along with a number of closely affiliated foundations will be sponsoring events in commemoration of this special anniversary. These foundations are the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER), the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), the Wood Library and Museum (WLM), and the Anesthesia Foundation (AF).

The OSA's Spring Meeting at Salishan is just around the corner. Registration will open at 7:00 am on May 21, with the CME program beginning at 7:30 am. Featured speakers include Alexander Hannenberg, M.D., ASA's Vice President for Professional Affairs, Clifford Deveney, M.D., an OHSU expert in bariatric surgical care, Nancy Rangila, C.F.P., from KMS Financial in Portland, and Stuart Rosenblum, M.D., a specialist in pain management at Legacy Pain Management Clinic in Portland. CME topics will include anesthesia economics, bariatric surgery and anesthetic management, ASA update, retirement and college planning, and opioid management in chronic pain care. Up to 6.75 Category I CME credits will be available.

Other activities will include a best ball golf tournament at the recently renovated Salishan course and Hors D'oeurves and Wine Tasting on Saturday evening. Also, the OSA will have a business meeting to update the attendees on your state society's activities on the political, legislative and regulatory front.

To register for the meeting, mail a check or provide credit card information (Visa and Mastercard only) to the OSA at:

OSA
P.O. Box 2082
Lake Oswego, OR 97035

The fee, which includes the wine tasting, is $185 for OSA Members and $235 for Non-members. Residents need to register, but the fee is waived. Please provide your name, city, e-mail and telephone number, as well as the number of adults and children (with ages) who will attend the wine tasting. OSA Members will receive a mailed meeting announcement in early April.

Please reserve your hotel room directly with the Salishan Lodge (800-452-2300) by April 20 to take advantage of the OSA's discounted block rate.

The OSA looks forward to seeing you in May!

The current requirement that anesthesia carts must be locked between all cases is soon to become just an unpleasant memory. CMS recently published a proposed rule that will classify the operating room as a secure area, thus drugs and supplies within the operating suite will not need to be provided additional security, unless deemed necessary by local circumstances. The result of this change is that JCAHO and Medicare surveyors cannot require locking of carts between cases once the new rule takes effect. The ASA has vigorously lobbied CMS over the past several years to lead to this much improved regulation. Please visit the ASA website for more information, links to the proposed rule, and how to provide a comment on the proposal to CMS.

As mentioned in a previously published story on OSAOnline.org, ASA also successfully petitioned CMS to relax the requirement that only the anesthesiologist performing the original anesthetic could perform the 48 hour post-operative note. The January story noted that CMS had changed their interpretation of the rule. Now, the "Conditions of Participation" proposed revisions actually change the rule so that another qualified anesthesia provider can complete the post-operative note.