News6 Investigates

Actions

6 Investigates: Nurse Anesthetists back Spohn, EmergencHealth

Posted at 5:51 PM, Jul 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-25 22:58:15-04

An internal leaked by several sources to 6 Investigates seeks to reassure Spohn associates that the system’s chosen anesthesia services provider – "EmergencHealth" – is staffed by "highly qualified and experienced" team.

The memo, from Christus Spohn President Justin Doss, also criticizes our on-going reporting into the system’s decision to contract with EmergencHealth.

And yet, neither Doss, nor EmergencHealth, have been willing to answer even basic questions from KRIS-6 News about who are the doctors and nurse anesthetists now performing work under the contract, or how many of them are now part of that team.

A CHRISTUS spokeswoman today told KRIS-6 News the hospital considers staffing information to be "confidential."

Meanwhile, the Texas Association of Nurse Anesthetists, or "TxANA," also issued a statement backing Spohn’s choice to shift to a "safe, patient focused, cost-effective anesthesia care model," while calling recent comments by the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists, concerning CRNA’s, "incorrect."

“The care model employed by Emergenc Health (sic) in Corpus Christi is a tested and effective system to ensure high-quality anesthesia care for patients," TxANA said.

Coastal Bend History