Newswise — NEW ORLEANS – Oct. 8, 2014 –The American Society of Anesthesiologists® (ASA®) today announced an initiative with Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE: TFX), a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, to benefit the ASA Charitable Foundation and its Lifebox campaign. The Lifebox photo challenge will be hosted at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014 annual meeting. For every annual meeting attendee who visits the Lifebox photo booth and has his or her picture taken, Teleflex will donate $20 per participant, up to $20,000 total.*

The Teleflex donations will benefit the Lifebox Foundation, which helps deliver the world’s foremost low-cost and high-quality pulse oximeter to thousands of people undergoing surgery in under-resourced countries. Pulse oximeters are a standard piece of equipment in most hospitals in countries such as the United Kingdom and the U.S. and contribute to the strides made in guaranteeing safe patient care in these countries. About 31.5 million operations are performed annually in 70,000 operating rooms in underdeveloped countries that do not have pulse oximeters.

“We are proud to continue our support of the ASA Charitable Foundation and its Lifebox campaign,” said Justin McMurray, president and general manager, Anesthesia and Respiratory Division, Teleflex. “This partnership illustrates our commitment to connecting clinicians and medical technology in a way that makes surgery safer for patients around the world.”

The ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014 annual meeting, which will be held Oct. 11-15 in New Orleans, draws physician anesthesiologists from around the world to advance the specialty of anesthesiology and improve patient safety. Teleflex was the second company to join the ASA Corporate Supporter Program and is now in its fifth year as an industry supporter. The Lifebox photo challenge will be located at the Teleflex booth 1610. The photo booth initiative will complement other booth activities, including hands-on product demonstrations and procedural simulators.

“The ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014 annual meeting provides a forum for leaders in anesthesiology to come together and share scientific knowledge to help move the specialty forward,” said ASA Charitable Foundation President Alexander A. Hannenberg, M.D. “We deeply value Teleflex’s support of our Lifebox campaign, along with other ASA Charitable Foundation initiatives, that allow us to impact surgical safety around the world.”

*May be subject to additional terms and conditions. Ask Teleflex booth representatives for details.

The ASA Charitable FoundationFounded in 2011, the Foundation supports the charitable endeavors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. The mission of the Foundation is to improve health and medical care in under-served communities by advancing the quality of anesthesia care; to increase access to quality anesthesia care; to support the anesthesiology profession’s response to disasters and health crises; and to promote educational opportunities in the anesthesiology field to educate and develop leaders of these efforts in the future.

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 that physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during, and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care that 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. Join the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2014 social conversation today. Like ASA on Facebook, follow ASALifeline on Twitter and use the hashtag #ANES2014.

Meeting Link: ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014 annual meeting