Facility San Jose Medical Center Department of Anesthesiology Address 250 Hospital Parkway San Jose CA 95119 Map & Directions Telephone Anesthesia Pre-op Clinic: (408) 972-6164 E-mail your doctor View your preventive services

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Closed	9:00 am 3:00 pm	9:00 am 3:00 pm	9:00 am 3:00 pm	9:00 am 3:00 pm	9:00 am 3:00 pm	Closed

Welcome to my home page. A South Carolina native, I came to California as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in the US Air Force. After a tour at Mather AFB in Sacramento and one at Clark AB Republic of the Philippines, I returned to California to stay.

I joined Kaiser Permanente in 1975 in Sacramento, in 1985 I transferred to the new South Sacramento Medical Center as the Chief Nurse Anesthetist and in 1998 I moved to Capitola and became the Chief CRNA at Kaiser Permanente San Jose. I had a parallel career (29yrs) in the USAF Reserve, 10 years in aero medical evacuation at Travis AFB and the remainder as a nurse anesthetist. My Air Force career began in the last year of the Viet Nam war. I was recalled to active duty for the first Gulf War and spent six months on active duty for that conflict. I retired from the reserves in August 2001 at the rank of Colonel. In 1998 then Governor Wilson appointed me to the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN). In 2002, I was reappointed by Governor Davis. My term ended August 2005 and I was honored to serve as the BRN President for 4 years.

I love anesthesia and have seen many advances in the art and science of anesthesia during the past 36 years. There have been great strides in patient safety with the development of new shorter acting drugs with less side effects and advances in technology to monitor patient oxygen concentration and expired gases. During the 1990s, I served on the Northern California Regional Anesthesia Equipment and Monitoring committee. Kaiser Permanente has set the standard for patient safety monitoring and other plans and practitioners followed our lead. Safety first is our mantra.

Our goal is to reduce your anesthetic risk to as near zero as possible and you play an important role in accomplishing that goal. Take an active part in maintaining your own health; eat right, exercise, watch your weight, don’t smoke, if you use alcohol do it in moderation and avoid addicting street drugs. If you need prescription medications, take them according to you doctor’s instructions. If you use health supplements, please tell your anesthesia provider. Follow the preoperative instructions you receive. For planned surgery we ask you to stop eating and drinking at least 8 hours prior to your surgery, but you may be instructed to take certain of your regular medications with a sip of water. Always be honest and forthcoming with your anesthetist; your safety is our greatest concern! Like Kaiser Permanente the anesthesia team at Kaiser Permanente San Jose is always on your side and we want you to thrive.

I am a graduate of Greenville General Hospital School of Nursing, the Medical University of South Carolina School of Medicine Nurse Anesthesia Program and the University of San Francisco.

My Interests

• I enjoy all aspects of Anesthesia practice; general, regional and monitored anesthesia care. Labor epidurals are particularly rewarding. Relieving pain and anxiety is very satisfying.
• On a personal note, when I'm not at work, I enjoy walking at the beach, golf & flying (currently I talk & read about flying more than I do it because my license is inactive). Growing cactus & succulents have occupied my time in recent years.

Disclaimer
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