I Am Navy Medicine – and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist – Lt. Jason Balazs
Seeing is believing…Lt. Jason Balazs, certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton as department head for Anesthesiology and pain services, uses a point of care ultrasound system to visually determine precise blood flow dynamics as part of the preoperative preparation to administer a nerve block to effectively numb an area before surgery and/or procedure. For Balazs, a Pueblo, Colorado native, his primary responsibility is to maintain mission readiness by providing the best possible anesthesia care for a surgery/procedure, whether it’s at a stateside military treatment facility like NHB or assigned to a far-flung forward deployed medical department on a U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier. Such expertise and attention to detail by him, as well as other certified registered nurse anesthetists, is recognized with National CRNA Week, January 22-28, 2023. The annual event was initially established by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists to acknowledge the anesthetist profession's long history and enduring record of patient safety (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer).
