[Washington, DC - October 31, 2012] Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Brian Harrington as the chair of the Anesthesia Steering Committee. He succeeds Dr. Berend Mets, who served so ably for four years in this position.

A graduate of the University of Washington Medical School, Dr. Harrington received his anesthesia training at Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle, Washington). He is in private practice at the Billings Clinic Hospital in Billings, Montana where his interests include regional anesthesia, pain management, and cardiovascular anesthesia. In addition to Health Volunteers Overseas, his professional activities primarily involve the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA), and the American Board of Anesthesiologists (ABA).

Dr. Harrington has a proven dedication to teaching anesthesia in developing countries. Through his work with HVO and other international volunteer programs, he has volunteered in India, Russia, and Zambia. He has served as the Program Director for HVO's anesthesia project in Vellore, India since 1999.

"We are lucky to have Dr. Harrington," said Nancy Kelly, HVO's Executive Director. "He brings both international experience and thoughtful administrative knowledge to the committee that will serve us well as we strive to improve the quality and availability of anesthesia care throughout the world."

In his capacity as chair of the HVO Anesthesia Steering Committee, Dr. Harrington will head efforts to improve global anesthesia care through the teaching and training of local health care providers in developing countries. The committee is responsible for the review of current programs, which include anesthesia teaching and training in Malawi, India, Peru and Vietnam. It works collaboratively with HVO's Nurse Anesthesia Steering Committee on a masters-level training program in nurse anesthesia in Ethiopia. The committee also reviews potential new programs and unique requests for support and oversees the Society for Education in Anesthesia (SEA)/HVO Traveling Fellowship, which funds qualified residents in their final year to teach and train anesthesia overseas. The fellowship will begin accepting new applications in December 2012.

A private, nonprofit organization, HVO was founded in 1986 to improve global health through education of local health care providers. In 26 years of service, HVO's training has transformed lives - of the health care providers, of their colleagues and patients, and of the HVO volunteers themselves.  HVO designs and implements clinical and didactic education programs in child health, primary care, trauma and rehabilitation, essential surgical care, oral health, blood disorders and cancer, infectious disease, nursing education and wound management. In more than 25 resource-poor countries, HVO volunteers train, mentor, and provide critical professional support to health care providers who care for the neediest populations in the most difficult of circumstances. For more information, please visit the HVO website.