Frank Moya

Frank Moya (January 20, 1929 – August 30, 2021) was an American anesthesiologist, businessman, and educator. He was widely recognized for his research in obstetric anesthesia and newborn physiology, and joined the University of Miami School of Medicine's Department of Anesthesiology as the youngest department chairman in the country, at the age of 33. Moya also held several prestigious national and state Anesthesiology positions and founded the Frank Moya Continuing Education Programs.

Early life Frank Moya was born in 1929, in New York City to poor immigrant Puerto Rican parents in a small hospital just outside of Harlem. Growing up in and around Harlem in the Great Depression, Moya spoke Spanish exclusively in his first five years of life.

While Moya initially planned to become a civil engineer, a fateful accident when he was twelve inspired him to change his course in life. Frank Moya and his brother Robert were throwing knives at a target when a stray blade pierced Robert's leg. Moya quickly took control of the situation, dressing the wound, and saving his brother's life. The excitement of the experience inspired Moya's interest in medicine. from 1974 to 1975, the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA) from 1972 to 1973, and the Society of Academic Anesthesia Chairs (SAAC) from 1969 to 1970. Over the course of his career, Moya published over 250 scientific articles, abstracts, and textbooks. In 1970, Moya shifted to private practice and became Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Before Moya, medical malpractice insurance for anesthesiologist was either completely unobtainable or (later on) completely unaffordable, with premiums of as much as $125,000 per year per doctor in 1984. By organizing APAC in the Cayman Islands as a re-insurance company as a way to share the risk of insuring anesthesiologists, Moya made malpractice insurance achievable for the common anesthesiologist. APAC was later acquired by FPIC Insurance Group, Inc.

Continuing Education Programs In 1964, Moya founded the continuing medical education programs, Current Reviews in Clinical Anesthesia, for anesthesiologists, Current Reviews for Nurse Anesthetists, and 3 annual anesthesia seminars, all of which are still ongoing today. He also funded the establishment of the first school for nurse anesthetists in the State of Florida, at Barry University.