Nurse Anesthetist Wins ANA Innovation Honors With First-of-its-Kind Airway Tool

Inventor saw a gap in available and effective airway management tools for patients who suffer breathing complications. A nurse anesthetist who leads a team that developed a device she invented, the McMurray Enhanced Airway (MEA), is the Nurse-led Team Award winner of the 2023 ANA Innovation Awards given by the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA Innovation Awards highlight, recognize, and celebrate exemplary nurse innovators who improve patient safety and health outcomes. The award includes a $50,000 prize earmarked for further product advancements. Roxanne McMurray, DNP, APRN, CRNA, and her team with McMurray Medical, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, developed the breathing tool to maintain adequate ventilation for surgery or other medical procedures.