Announcing the Fall Meeting Speakers

Dru Riddle, Ph.D., DNP, CRNA, FAAN

Fall Meeting Presentations: "Pharmaco-Who? Pharmacogenomics in Anesthesia Care" and "Preoperative risk stratification: What do we need to know now?

Dru is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Clinical Education at Texas Christian University School of Nurse Anesthesia, Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as the Director of the Center for Translational Research: A JBI Center of Excellence and Co-Chair of the Cochrane US Network.

Dru is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and maintains an active clinical anesthesia practice. He was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2018 and was elected to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Board of Directors in 2020.

Dru’s research interest included evidence based healthcare, pharmacogenomics, and genetic implications for anesthesia care. Additionally, he has spoken nationally and internationally on evidence based healthcare, systematic review strategies, and various clinical anesthesia topics.

Dr. Juan Quintana, DNP, MHS, CRNA; COO, Standard Anesthesia PLLC; Past President, AANA

Fall Meeting Presentations: "Anesthesia Reimbursement" and "Compliance and Cost-Effective Analysis - Best Practices"

Dr. Quintana is the COO of Standard Anesthesia Associates. His anesthesia practice provides essential services to several facilities in Texas. He is co-owner of ABC Consultants LLC, an anesthesia billing company, and International Anesthesia Seminars educating nurse anesthesia students on the business of anesthesia.
He is a former President of the Texas ANA and former President AANA in 2016.

Juan has been practicing anesthesia since 1997, he graduated with a DNP from Texas Christian University in 2009, he is a leader in the area of education and evaluation of cost-effectiveness and efficiency in anesthesia practice.

In 2010, Dr. Quintana became the first CRNA to serve on the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Council (MEDCAC). He has also served on the CMS -Acumen Technical Expert Panel Medicare, Co-Chaired the Musculoskeletal Non-spine sub-committee establishing cost and risk adjustment to Medicare claims, and the CMS -Yale New Haven Health Services Corporation CORE Technical Expert panel.

Yana Krmic, NYSANA President, CRNA, MSN

Fall Meeting Presentation: "NYSANA Update"

Yana received her nursing degree in the town of Norilsk, Russia, in 1996 before immigrating to the United States in 1997. She received her Respiratory Therapy degree from Molloy College, Rockville Center, NY, in 2000, and BSN from University of Phoenix, Temple, AZ, in 2003. Yana started her professional career in Cardiac ICU at NY Presbyterian Hospital- Weill Cornell Medical Center before attending the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in Newark, NJ, class of 2009, receiving Masters of Nursing Science.

She started her CRNA career at North Shore LIJ Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY in 2010 and by 2011, joined a small group of CRNAs practicing at Montefiore Medical Center. By the end of 2012, Yana was promoted to Chief CRNA at Montefiore Healthcare system. As the first Chief CRNA at Montefiore since the late 1980s, she grew a team of nearly 60 CRNAs by the end of 2015.

Today, Yana is the owner of her company, practicing in Westchester, Dutchess, and Orange counties in New York. She has been serving on NYSANA’s GRC Committee and serving as Chair to NYSANA Communications Committee. On the national level, Yana is currently serving on AANA Communications Committee and representing AANA Foundation as an advocate for New York State. Yana is excited to serve on the board of directors. She is committed to advancing the profession of Nurse Anesthesia and making positive changes for CRNAs in New York State.

Ralph Kohl, Senior Director, Federal Government Affairs, AANA

Fall Meeting Presentation: "Effective Member Advocacy to Drive Change"

Ralph has been with AANA for eight years and took over as the head of the Federal Government Affairs office in October 2016. An experienced and sought-after public speaker, Ralph's previous work includes senior roles with healthcare professional associations at the federal and state levels. He also served as a staff member for the New York State Legislature in Albany, N.Y. Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Ralph earned his bachelor's degree at Dowling College on Long Island. Ralph and his family live in the city of Alexandria, Va. 
 
 Ralph leads an office of seven, overseeing the AANA's efforts on federal legislative and regulatory issues. Working on issues from full practice authority in the VA, to opioids, to Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development, Ralph provides critical leadership to the team to navigate a variety of issues.

Dina Velocci, DNP, CRNA, President, AANA

Fall Meeting Presentations: "AANA Update" and "Caring for the Parturient with Co-Morbidities"

As Vice President of Client Success at APM Solutions, she brings her front-line perspective to effectively implementing and executing cutting-edge processes. Dina has been providing valuable insights from her 18 years as a Nurse Anesthetist and 14 years as a clinical and didactic instructor for Nurse Anesthetists. She is currently pursuing her MIT certificate in strategy and Innovation. In the past, she’s supplied anesthesia services for various anesthesia practices from academia to office-based and free-standing surgery centers. In addition, she is the President of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

Daniel D. King, DNP, CRNA, CPPS

Fall Meeting Presentation: "Sleeping with Mary Jane: Cannabis Considerations for the CRNA"