Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Featuring Veronica Hincapie Escobar

Dr. Veronica Hincapie Escobar, DNP, CRNA, is a graduate of the Crozer Chester Medical Center Nurse Anesthesia Program at Villanova University. She is a Colombian immigrant who rose through the health-care ranks from environmental services to Registered Nurse (RN), and is now Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). She delivers anesthesia at WellSpan York Hospital with a positive attitude and is eager to continue to grow in her practice. When asked what it means to her to be a Hispanic CRNA, she responded:

“Being a Hispanic CRNA means that I get to show future generations that with discipline and determination you can exceed academically and professionally. The Hispanic resilience, positive outlook, work ethic, and empathy gave me the confidence to continue pursuing my dream to work as an anesthesia provider. Being a Hispanic bilingual CRNA gives me the satisfaction of providing high-quality and safe anesthesia care to our growing community.”

✨ Thank you, Dr. Hincapie Escobar, for sharing your thoughts and happy National Hispanic Heritage Month to the Hispanic communities you serve and all communities across Pennsylvania!

🩺💙 For additional #HispanicCRNA stories in our #HispanicHeritageMonth blog series, click here.

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BACK TO THE FUTURE! Governor Signs Ceremonial Professional Designation Bill

More than a year after Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law Act 60 of 2021, which granted formal title recognition to the state’s Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), members of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) got to join the state’s top executive for a ceremonial bill signing at the Capitol Building.

Public bill signings were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic and only recently restarted, with PANA visiting Harrisburg on Sept. 20, 2022. Even though it was delayed in coming, the ceremony still made for a glorious day. Act 60 remains one of the biggest legislative achievements in a generation for CRNAs and SRNAs in Pennsylvania --- one that took more than a decade to secure.

With no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses. Now, with Act 60, everyone knows us for who we are and what we train to be --- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

Thank you again to every CRNA and SRNA in Pennsylvania, and to dedicated PANA board members and trustees, for everyone’s tireless advocacy to get this law across the finish line and significantly advance our profession.

Learn more about the issues at www.PANAforQualityCare.com. Click on “Legislative Updates.”

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Waiver that Suspends Physician Supervision of CRNAs Extended Again

The commonwealth once again has extended several regulatory waivers designed to give health-care providers greater flexibility in their response to COVID-19.

Among the waivers is a provision that suspends the physician supervision requirement of a certified registered nurse anesthetist in a hospital setting.

Lawmakers unanimously approved the measure (H.B. 2401) on June 30, the last day of the state’s 2021-22 fiscal year, and the governor signed it immediately.

The governor announced the original temporary blanket waiver for advanced practice nurses and CRNAs on May 6, 2020, as part of an executive order to enhance the state’s response to the emerging health-care crisis.

The waivers have been extended several times since then, most recently in March. This latest extension means the waivers will remain in effect through Oct. 31, 2022.

Removing the supervision requirement and allowing CRNAs to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training has availed more physicians to provide hands-on care, expanded the capacity of both CRNA and physician providers, and augmented the state’s health-care system during this pandemic.