Tafford and LaRayne “Lori” Oltz of Whitefish were honored recently with the prestigious Ira P. Gunn Award for outstanding professional advocacy from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

They were selected from a national membership of 46,000. According to Tafford, the award meant “everything” to them.

“Ira Gunn was an nurse anesthetist. She was probably one of the leaders in nurse anesthesia,” he said. “She actually flew up and testified at the trial in Missoula.”

He referred to their 14-year court battle to protect the ability of nurse practitioners to practice. Their case, Oltz v. St. Peter’s Community Hospital of Helena, became a landmark case.

Tafford said it established the legal right of certified registered nurse anesthetists to compete with anesthesiologist physicians. The decision in U.S. District Court in Missoula found that a Helena group of anesthesiologists had conspired with the hospital to bar them from practicing by entering an exclusive contract for services.

“It was the first case ever to declare that an exclusive contract for medical services could be a restraint on trade,” Tafford said. “It means that hospitals really can’t use exclusive contracts to get rid of you.”

It has since been frequently quoted in other antitrust cases. The case ultimately concluded in 1996 after the decision was upheld twice in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

That year, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists named the couple its Nurse Anesthetists of the Year. 

“For us to get it and then get this one is pretty amazing,” he said.

Both trained at the Mayo Clinic School of Nurse Anesthesia and were recruited to the valley in 2006. Tafford provided pain management services at Montana Center for Wellness and Pain Management while Lori provided sedation for interventional pain patients at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. 

In February 2012, Tafford retired from the wellness center and has since enrolled in Flathead Valley Community College’s Montana Culinary Institute.

“I like to cook but I never really had time to learn to cook the right way,” he said. “I love it. It’s great.” 

Lori still works part time providing anesthesia services for plastic surgeon Sara Nargi in Whitefish. According to Tafford, his wife is the only certified registered nurse anesthetist practicing in this area, although more than 40 practice in Montana.

In Montana and 16 other states, certified nurse anesthetists are allowed to practice all types of anesthesia for any type of patient without physician supervision. Their training begins with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, then two or more years working in critical care before gaining admission to one of about 100 nurse anesthetist programs for 30 months or more of training for a master’s degree.

By 2022, Tafford said these degrees are slated to become doctorates.

Anesthesiologists earn bachelor’s degrees, then complete four years of medical school as well as a residency for 12 or more total years of training.  

Even in retirement, Tafford remains a strong advocate for nurse anesthetists.  

Tafford said nurse anesthetists still face uphill battles with the turf war continuing with physician anesthesiologists. He said exclusive contracts remain in many areas. 

Tafford said consumers lose the most when nurse anesthetists fall victim to such practices.

“Having a nurse anesthetist in there gives the patient a right for good quality anesthesia at lesser cost,” he said. “It does foster competition.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.