“I’ve been a patient. I’ve had surgery. I know what it’s like to feel very afraid before surgery and really crummy afterward. It’s part of what inspired me to go into anesthesia and what inspires me to provide the best care possible.”

Alyssa, CRNA

Alyssa works with Dr. Bartell as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a Master’s prepared nurse with a specialty in anesthesia. She is responsible for administering anesthesia during surgery and acting as a resource for post-operative care in the recovery room. Her priorities are ensuring patient safety and comfort; to this end, Alyssa spends as much time as necessary getting to know each patient before surgery, answering questions, and customizing an anesthetic plan based on each patients’ needs.

Alyssa has almost three decades of experience as an RN (Registered Nurse), two of which have been as an Advanced Practice Nurse Prescriber (APNP) and CRNA. More specifically she has been practicing in the specialty of ambulatory plastic surgery since 2007. Alyssa has a passion for personal development and holistic approaches to health and wellness. She is trained in level 1 Reiki and received training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (INHC). She is fascinated by the mind-body connection and in 2019 will be working toward her 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher certificate.

Of all the places she could work, Alyssa chose to work with Dr. Bartell because she loves the small intimate environment. “We are like a family. It comes through in the care we provide and the attention we give our patients. The freedom and autonomy I have to provide high quality care, by my personal standards, brings me immense satisfaction.” Her focus on connection, trust, safety, and comfort can be seen in the approaches she and the other staff take to relieve anxiety: warm blankets, soft lighting, essential oils, soothing music, and visualization exercises.

Alyssa’s comprehensive focus on care can be summed up in her description of her best day at work: “Seeing patients wake up smiling and saying they’ve never felt this good after surgery, makes for a pretty amazing day!”