Board certified in both Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Virgil Airola is a fellow of the American College of Anesthesiology and a specialty fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Airola joined Children’s Hospital in 1981. An active member of Children’s medical staff, Dr. Airola has served on numerous Hospital committees including the Executive Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Bylaws Committee and the Sedation Committee. He has also served as Assistant Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and served two terms as Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Children’s.

Dr. Airola has long been involved in academic medicine. He was an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at University Hospital, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York. He currently holds the position of Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesia & Perioperative Care at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Fresno-Central San Joaquin Valley Medical Education Program. Dr. Airola serves as a mentor to local students attending the Sunnyside High School Doctor's Academy. He has been published in professional journals including Anesthesia and Analgesia, Intensive and Critical Care Digest and Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Airola’s professional activities include membership in several professional societies including the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the California Medical Association, and the Fresno-Madera Medical Society. Dr. Airola served as President of the Fresno-Madera Medical Society in 2001. He was the 2007-2008 President of the California Society of Anesthesiologists. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Central California Blood Center in Fresno. Dr. Airola organized and sponsored fundraisers for five years to benefit Children’s Hospital Central California.

A graduate from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Dr. Airola completed his anesthesiology residency and fellowship at State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, in Syracuse, New York.

Publications

Greaves TH, Cramolini GM, Walker DH, Airola VM 2nd, Parks S, Hodge D, Birek A. “Inverse ratio ventilation in a 6-year-old with severe post-traumatic adult respiratory distress syndrome.” Crit Care Med. 1989; 17(6): 588-9.
PMID: 2721215