LSU Health’s Bonanno Elected President of Accrediting Agency

Laura Bonanno, PhD, DNP, CRNA, Nurse Anesthesia Program Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, has been elected President of the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). She will serve a one-year term.

The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs accredits the 121 nurse anesthesia programs at the master’s or doctoral degree levels in the United States and its territories.

Dr. Bonanno is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). In addition to directing LSU Health New Orleans’ Nurse Anesthesia Program, she currently serves as Vice-President of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, and she previously served two years as President. Bonanno is a member of the editorial board of The International Journal of Student Nurse Anesthetists.

Bonanno has been a practicing CRNA for more than 24 years and has experience in the administration of general anesthesia and monitored anesthesia care for all types of surgical and diagnostic procedures. She participates in yearly medical/surgical mission trips to Guatemala.

Her research interest and publication areas include interprofessional education, simulation, and clinical evaluation of students. She received the Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year Award for Louisiana in 2016, the LSU Health New Orleans Anesthesia Department’s Excellence in Teaching Award and was named one of the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana. Bonanno has also been recognized by the National Scholars Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honour Society, and Phi Kappa Phi.