What does it take to deliver anesthesia in a hospital with no ventilator, scarce medication, and power that cuts out mid-surgery?

Today we’re joined by Dr. Mark Newton, pediatric anesthesiologist and longtime medical missionary, Mary Mungai, one of Kenya’s first licensed nurse anesthetists and a leader in anesthesia education across East Africa; and Jackie Rowles, IFNA President and founder of Our Hearts Your Hands will take ​you ​far ​beyond ​the ​walls ​of ​the ​US ​Hospitals ​and ​surgery ​centers ​into ​low ​income ​countries ​where ​nurse ​anesthetists ​are ​delivering ​care ​under ​some ​of ​the ​most ​resource-limited ​and ​demanding ​conditions ​in ​the ​world.

Together, they share extraordinary stories of resilience, courage, and compassion — from training the first nurse anesthetists in Kenya to bringing safe anesthesia to war-torn regions like South Sudan and Somaliland. It’s a look at how education, mentorship, and global partnerships are transforming access to safe surgical care — one provider, one patient, and one country at a time.

Here’s some of what you’ll hear in this episode:

🌍 Global Perspective: An inside look at CRNAs serving in Africa’s most resource-limited hospitals.

🇰🇪 Kenya’s First Nurse Anesthetist: Mary Mungai’s story of building training programs from the ground up.

💉 Training the Trainers: How education multiplies impact across borders.

⚕️ The Supply Crisis: Performing surgery without halothane, oxygen, or IV fluids.

🤝 Collaboration Over Competition: How CRNAs and physicians work side by side to save lives.

💖 A Global Call to Action: “We didn’t choose where we were born — but we can choose to help.”

Learn more about Our Heart Your Hands: https://www.ourheartsyourhands.org/ 

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The 1099 CRNA Institute: https://aana.com/1099

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