Howard Memorial Hospital’s newly-hired Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) had undergone on-site orientation with surgeons and other nurse anesthetists, and was house-hunting here when he and his wife were killed in a Little Rock traffic accident, Thursday, Jan. 24.

Daniel and Aimee Burghart were planning to move to Nashville.

HMH administrator Deborah Wright said Monday that Burghart had been working with local surgeons and with CRNAs J.B. Davis and Jonathan Baylon since the first week of December. CRNA Davis retired at the end of December.

“Daniel was already very popular with other hospital personnel, and that tells you a lot about him,” Wright said, adding that he was extremely well-qualified.

The Burgharts were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 10 in western Little Rock at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Wright said that the hospital would begin its recruiting efforts again. She said that CRNA Baylon had been circulating information about the opening by word-of-mouth among other CRNAs. She said that Baylon would be able to fill the hospital’s needs by himself until a new replacement was found.