Newswise — Park Ridge, Ill. – Mary O’Brien, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and resident of Swisher, Iowa, received the 2018 Daniel F. Vigness Federal Political Director of the Year Award from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) during the AANA’s Mid-Year Assembly held in Washington, D.C. O’Brien is the 17th recipient of the award. 

The Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director of the Year Award was established in 2001 by the AANA Board of Directors to acknowledge the CRNA who makes the greatest strides in advancing the AANA’s federal healthcare agenda through grassroots political activities as a Federal Political Director. A CRNA for nearly 30 years, Daniel D. Vigness, MS, CRNA, was the first recipient of the Federal Political Director of the Year Award. A South Dakota native, Vigness lost his battle with cancer in 2013.

 O’Brien is currently a staff nurse anesthetist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, in Iowa City.   “It is such an honor to be selected for this award. I wish to thank the members of the AANA board of directors and the many CRNAs across the country for taking the time to mentor and support me over the years as I have worked to advance our profession,” said O’Brien. “Dan was a friend and gave me the best sage advice as a new CRNA, and I am proud to have my name alongside his for this award.”

 A nurse anesthetist for more than 15 years, O’Brien is well known to local, state, and federal legislators for her political involvement. Her efforts have helped make the Iowa Association of Nurse Anesthetists a well-known healthcare organization in the state of Iowa. 

O’Brien received her master’s degree in nurse anesthesia and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.  She also graduated from Allen Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Waterloo, Iowa. In addition, she earned her Executive Juris Doctorate from Concord Law School in Los Angeles, California.

About the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Founded in 1931 and located in Park Ridge, Ill., and Washington, D.C., the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is the professional organization representing more than 52,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists across the United States. As advanced practice registered nurses and anesthesia specialists, CRNAs administer approximately 43 million anesthetics to patients in the United States each year and are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America. In some states, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia professionals in nearly 100 percent of rural hospitals. For more information, visit www.aana.com and www.future-of-anesthesia-care-today.com and follow @aanawebupdates on Twitter.