In October 1990, the Department of Anesthesiology was established at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital at its inception, undertaking surgical anesthesia services. The anesthesia staffs were mostly trained in advance at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Under the leadership of successive directors: Director Liu Kang (retired), Director Li Ming-chien (retired), and the current Director Chia Yuan-i, the department has pioneered and expanded its scope, becoming a medical center for training anesthesiology specialists in southern Taiwan and actively developing anesthesia-related medical services. In 2003, it was approved to be upgraded to a Department of Anesthesiology, divided into three sections: General Anesthesia, Pain Management, and Cardiothoracic Anesthesia. With over two decades of effort, the department is now a training hospital for anesthesiology specialists certified by the Taiwan Society of Anesthesiology.