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The Oklahoma Association of Nurse Anesthetists (OANA) represents over 512 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) working in Oklahoma serving both urban and rural health care. CRNAs provide anesthesia in collaboration with surgeons, anesthesiologists, dentists, podiatrists, and other qualified healthcare professionals. CRNAs are anesthesia professionals who safely administer approximately 32 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities. The cost-efficiency of CRNAs helps control escalating healthcare costs. CRNAs are the primary anesthesia providers in rural America, enabling healthcare facilities in these medically underserved areas to offer obstetrical, surgical, and trauma stabilization services. In some states, CRNAs are the sole providers in nearly 100% of the rural hospitals.