Bridgton Hospital joins hospitals nationwide in celebrating National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Week, Jan. 25-31.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists are advanced practice nurses who administer around 30 million anesthetics per year in the United States. CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers at Bridgton Hospital and nearly all rural hospitals in America, and they have been the primary providers to the military since World War I.

Thomas Nolan, CRNA, and Ibra (Chip) Ripley, CRNA, MSNA, are employed by Bridgton Hospital and the Central Maine Medical Family. The services they provide include anesthesia for surgery and special procedures, acute pain management, epidural analgesia for labor and delivery and airway management for resuscitation. All services are available 24 hours a day.

“Chip and I are both residents of the community and we’re committed to providing high quality, compassionate anesthesia care to all patients referred to us,” said Nolan.

Nolan and Ripley are members of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), the Maine Association of Nurse Anesthetists (MEANA), and are adjunct clinical faculty at the University of New England, School of Nurse Anesthesia.

Ibra (Chip) Ripley and Thomas Nolan are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists at Bridgton Hospital, which is celebrating National CRNA Week, Jan. 25-31.