HRSA awards additional funding for nurse anesthetist program

The University at Buffalo School of Nursing has received four years of additional funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through the Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships Program. The $79,000 award will provide direct support to qualifying nurse anesthetist students.

The purpose of the HRSA’s Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship Program is to increase the number of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) providing care, especially to rural and underserved populations.

For more than 150 years, CRNAs have provided essential care, safely administering more than 50 million anesthetics each year in the United States, including in the United States military, where CRNAs have full practice authority. CRNAs are also uniquely positioned to help address care shortages and gaps in rural areas, as they make up more than 80% of anesthesia providers in U.S. rural counties.

The University at Buffalo School of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthetist Program is ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report. In 2021, the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia (COA) granted continued accreditation to University at Buffalo School of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthetist Program for 10 years, the maximum accreditation status a program can achieve.