MTSA and Halyard Health Launch ON-Q Center of Excellence

MADISON, TN--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2014) - The Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) and Halyard Health (formerly Kimberly-Clark Health Care), a medical technology company that provides innovative healthcare solutions focused on preventing infection, eliminating pain and speeding recovery, are collaborating to launch the nation's first peer-to-peer Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Center of Excellence housed within a school. The new Center, now open on MTSA's Madison, Tenn., campus, will be dedicated to the education of nurse anesthetists in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) with Halyard Health's ON-Q Pain Relief System -- used primarily to treat acute pain.

With Halyard Health's ON-Q non-narcotic portable Pain Relief System, the local anesthetics pain relieving methods that physicians may use during surgery are available for use after surgery, both at the hospital and at home. MTSA's Center of Excellence will train CRNA's how to use this innovative technology that allows local anesthetic to be delivered right to where a patient's pain is, reducing the chance of the side effects commonly associated with narcotics.

"MTSA has built a strong program and has allied with Halyard Health as a respected partner because it is time for CRNAs to become more proactive concerning their patients' acute pain management," said MTSA Program Administrator Chris Hulin, CRNA, MBA, DNP. "Properly managing patient pain before, during and after surgery is vital to patient satisfaction, yet not enough CRNAs are practicing UGRA, which enhances patient care."

At MTSA, CRNAs are trained to safely administer anesthesia in a variety of medical settings including operating rooms, obstetrical units and pain clinics. Ultrasound technology is one of the most recent techniques CRNAs use to administer regional anesthesia to prevent pain.

"Ultrasound technology allows us to see patients' nerves, inject pain medications around the nerves and ultimately prevent the nerves from triggering the feeling of pain to the brain," said MTSA Director of Collaborative Learning Patrick Moss, CRNA, MS, APN.

According to a recent study published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, the use of UGRA was positive when compared to alternative techniques. Another study published in the Oct. 2012 issue of Pain Medicine concluded that people use ultrasound technology to achieve a higher success rate, improve safety and teach anesthesia trainees. While the main barriers for using ultrasound technology include lack of training, perceived decreased efficiency and the lack of immediate availability of equipment.

"When it comes to acute pain management, patients deserve the most advanced evidence-based therapies available," said Moss. "MTSA specializes in equipping today's CRNAs with these techniques."

Hulin says increasing access to this important training is vital, and as part of the continuing development of MTSA's ON-Q peer-to-peer educational Center of Excellence, MTSA is in the process of building an Acute Pain Management Post-graduate Fellowship that will offer CRNAs an opportunity to rigorously and didactically prepare with the support of expert clinical mentorship.

About The Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia

Founded in 1950, the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) provides a Christian, Seventh-day Adventist learning environment that fosters the pursuit of truth, excellence in anesthesia practice, and a life of service, to supply needed anesthesia providers in Nashville, Middle Tennessee, the Central South, and nationally. In Middle Tennessee, more than 65 percent of nurse anesthetists are MTSA alumni, and 45 percent of all nurse anesthetists in the state graduated from the school. A leader in academic and professional excellence, MTSA is responsive to the needs of its constituents, providing affordable graduate education for students from diverse backgrounds. For more information, visit www.mtsa.edu.

About Halyard Health

Halyard Health (NYSE: HYH) is a medical technology company focused on preventing infection, eliminating pain and speeding recovery for healthcare providers and their patients. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., Halyard is committed to addressing some of today's most important healthcare needs, such as preventing healthcare-associated infections and reducing the use of narcotics while helping patients move from surgery to recovery. Halyard's business segments -- Surgical & Infection Prevention and Medical Devices -- develop, manufacture and market clinically superior solutions that improve medical outcomes and business performance in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.halyardhealth.com.