Joe McBeain, CRNA, NSPM Fellowship Trained
A certified registered nurse anesthetist, commonly known as a CRNA, is a professional licensed and certified independent anesthesia provider and pain manager. In the United States, CRNAs provide over 50 million anesthetics a year. CRNAs have been providing professional anesthesia services in the United States for over 150 years and have been the sole anesthesia providers in Delta County for over 35 years. This began with Jerry Young, of Cedaredge, and Chris Marshall, of Delta.
Today, Delta Health is providing pain management services through the addition of our new Pain Center which opened in September 2021. The current Delta Health CRNA team includes me, Joe McBeain, Joshua Lake, Christine Hamilton, Carey Simon, Natalie Chilton, and most recently Molly Hartman.
I am Delta Health’s Pain Practitioner and am a retired Navy CRNA that received my anesthesia training from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. I also completed a fellowship in Advanced Pain Management from Texas Christian University. While in the Navy, I was a member of the acute pain management service and instructed anesthesia students and residents in acute pain management.
CRNAs represent more than 80 percent of the anesthesia providers in rural America. That is why Delta Health is thrilled to offer greater access to these services at the Delta Health Pain Center. The heavy influence of CRNAs in rural America allows access to health care for rural Americans that would not otherwise be available, affordable, or sustainable.
Pain is a complex phenomenon, especially chronic pain. And, while chronic pain can affect persons at any age, it tends to be a disease of aging. There is often a conception that a single approach to pain management, such as opioid use, is the only treatment option for pain management. However, opioid therapy is discouraged in treating chronic, non-cancer pain.
People also often think that chronic pain has a single source; however, it is unlikely for a patient to have a single source of pain. We also know today that there are many confounding factors required to adequately treat pain in addition to medication management and injection therapies (such as epidural steroid injections). Behavioral health and physical therapy are integral and essential to adequately manage chronic pain syndromes. When used together, patients can receive optimum, individualized attention and care for their pain-needs.
At the Delta Health Pain Center, we strive to have a comprehensive, integrative and collaborative approach to managing the chronic pain of Delta County residents. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call us at 970.546.4010 or visit deltahealthco.org.
Joe McBeain is a CRNA at the Delta Health Pain Center and is NSPM Fellowship Trained.