Alum helps secure donation of anesthesia machines
About the donation
A UIC Nursing alumna helped facilitate the donation of two anesthesia machines to the UIC Nursing Nurse Anesthesia DNP program, which welcomed its first class of students in fall 2025.
Christine Salvator, BSN ’88, CRNA, recently retired as a nurse anesthetist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is a mentor to UIC Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program director Susan Krawczyk, DNP, CRNA.
Knowing that large medical facilities sometimes donate aging medical equipment, Krawczyk asked Salvator whether Northwestern had any anesthesia machines to donate to UIC Nursing students for simulation experiences.
Salvator delivered, and the two high-end Drager anesthesia machines are valued at more than $25,000.
UIC Nursing is building out simulation labs and student spaces on the second floor of the Chicago building for the nurse anesthesia program, thanks to a $10 million gift from alumna Christine Schwartz.
The space is expected to be ready for students to use in the fall, and Krawczyk says the machines arrived at just the right time.
“In the fall, students will learn and fully understand the anesthesia machine from top to bottom, front to back, inside and out,” Krawczyk says. “Having two anesthesia machines at the college will help solidify that learning.”
Salvator says she was happy to help secure the donation of the machines to her alma mater, adding that simulation labs help students safely prepare for scenarios they may encounter in clinical practice.
“The more you can practice for when things go wrong, the more you can tamp down your anxiety and think clearly in the operating room,” she says. “Having these sim labs will allow them to quiet the noise and focus on what’s going on. That will make for a better practitioner.”
She adds that students today come in with advanced skill sets thanks to simulation labs.
“These are my future colleagues, my peers,” she says. “This is going to have a generational impact going forward.”