Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) yesterday presented Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) with the 2018 Excellence in Government award in recognition of her leadership on Veterans health issues.

As Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, Congresswoman Brownley has a distinguished record in fighting to assure America’s Veterans high-quality health care, including safe, patient-centric surgical care.  Prior to her position in Congress, she was elected to her local school board, followed by service in the California State Legislature.

“Congresswoman Brownley has shown a proven commitment to ensuring our nation’s Veterans receive the safe, high-quality care that they have earned and deserved,” said ASA President James Grant, M.D., M.B.A., FASA. “ASA is proud to recognize her leadership and commitment to patient safety and applauds her dedication to public service.”

"It is an honor to receive ASA's Excellence in Government Award for my work on veteran patient safety," said Brownley. "In Congress, I remain committed to ensuring access to high-quality, affordable, and safe health care, and look forward to continuing to work with ASA on this important goal."

Separately, ASA honors a physician anesthesiologist each year with the Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government award in recognition of his or her contributions to the specialty to advance ASA’s legislative, political and regulatory priorities.  This year’s recipient is Michael Lewis, M.D., FASA, secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 52,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.   

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount.  Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter.