AANA Presents Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award to Pennsylvania

Apr 1, 2022

Park Ridge, Ill. (AANA)—The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) will honor the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) with the Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award at its Mid-Year Assembly to be held in Washington, D.C., April 2-6.

The Excellence in State Government Relations Advocacy Award, established in 2016, is presented annually to a state association based on the quality of its efforts in the state legislative or regulatory arena for the nurse anesthesiology profession. The recipient is chosen by the AANA Government Relations Committee.

In 2021, the PANA successfully lobbied for a law that includes formal title recognition for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in statute for the first time, clarifies the CRNA relationship with physicians and dentists, and allows for CRNAs to work with podiatrists.

“The pandemic raised awareness of the critical roles that CRNAs play in healthcare settings and how some state policies prevented CRNAs from practicing to the fullest extent of their education and training at precisely the time they were most needed,” PANA President Lew Bennett, DNP, CRNA, said. “We are honored to be recognized by the AANA for our achievements.”

To increase the flexibility of healthcare resources, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf waived physician supervision during the pandemic. PANA used this opportunity to build relationships with legislators to support title recognition legislation.

“The relationships PANA developed with the governor and legislators will benefit CRNAs for years to come,” Bennett said. “Thank you to the many Pennsylvania CRNAs who laid the foundation for this effort, and those who will continue to fight to protect CRNA practice in the future.”

In addition, PANA developed relationships with a coalition of nursing, rural health, and other groups, including Americans for Prosperity, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and the National Guard, all of which validated and reinforced PANA’s message to legislators.

As advanced practice nurses, CRNAs are members of one of the most trusted professions according to Gallup. CRNAs provide anesthesia care across all settings and in all patient populations and are the primary anesthesia providers in rural and underserved areas and on the battlefield in forward surgical teams.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurse anesthetists across the country have been essential in addressing the deadliest part of the disease in addition to providing top-of-the-line anesthesia care. They have served as experts in airway management, hemodynamic monitoring, management of patients on ventilators, and overall management of critically ill patients.

About the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

Pennsylvania Extends COVID-19 Waivers

Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kurt Knaus, P: 717-724-2866

E: kurt@ceislermedia.com

Among the waivers is a provision that temporarily suspends physician supervision of CRNAs in a hospital setting

HARRISBURG (April 1, 2022) --- Pennsylvania lawmakers once again have voted to extend several regulatory waivers put into place at the start of the pandemic to help health-care providers respond to COVID-19. Without action, the waivers would have expired March 31. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the legislation March 30, keeping the waivers in place through June.

Among the waivers is a provision that suspends the physician supervision requirement of a certified registered nurse anesthetist in a hospital setting, giving health-care facilities the flexibility to continue tapping into the unique skillset of CRNAs to fulfill critical roles inside and outside the operating room as the state continues its pandemic recovery.

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.

After the passage of two constitutional amendments dealing with executive power, the General Assembly ended the governor’s emergency order in June 2021 but allowed the waivers to remain in place until September 2021. Before they expired, lawmakers voted then to keep the waivers in place until March 2022. The latest legislative action keeps the waivers in effect for three more months.

The Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) represents more than 4,000 CRNAs and students across the commonwealth.

Removing the supervision requirement and allowing CRNAs to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training avails more physicians to provide hands-on care, expands the capacity of both CRNA and physician providers, and augments the state’s health-care system to continue to meet the demands of this pandemic.

For more information, visit www.PANAforQualityCare.com or follow along on social media via Twitter at @PANACRNA, Facebook at www.facebook.com/PANACRNA, or Instagram at @PANACRNA.

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The Daily Item: Geisinger anesthetist chosen for National Disaster Medical System team

By Eric Scicchitano | escicchitano@dailyitem.com

December 19, 2021

Christopher Heiss, an anesthetist with Geisinger, has been chosen to join the National Disaster Medical System’s Trauma and Critical Care Team. He’ll be sworn in this January. Christopher Heiss, an anesthetist with Geisinger, has been chosen to join the National Disaster Medical System’s Trauma and Critical Care Team. He’ll be sworn in this January. 📷: courtesy of Geisinger

Christopher Heiss, an anesthetist with Geisinger, long desired to serve the U.S. in a uniformed capacity but his career in medicine ultimately kept him from joining the military.

However, Heiss, 32, of Bloomsburg, eyed serving with a distinguished federal medical unit and after several tries, has been chosen to join the National Disaster Medical System’s Trauma and Critical Care Team. He’ll be sworn in this January.

“For me, it’s me playing a part that I grew up around,” Heiss said, referring to relatives who served the armed forces. “It just so happens the service I would provide is very unique to the skill set that I have. Everything I’ve learned throughout my career, it’s all right there.”

Heiss’s career began as an emergency medical technician. He then studied to become a paramedic and later worked as a flight paramedic in Western Pennsylvania. In time, he earned a degree as a registered nurse. He served as an intensive care unit nurse at Geisinger before becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist in 2019.

In 2020, Heiss, a husband and father of one, helped develop an intubation shield deployed throughout Geisinger’s system to help protect frontline workers from contracting COVID-19.

Over the years, Heiss said he tried to catch the attention of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which is operated through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. About 80 health care professionals belong to the NDMS Trauma and Critical Care Team (TCCT). The size and credentials necessary make it a difficult job to obtain.

Members of the National Disaster Medical System are deployed to national and international emergencies like natural disasters, public health emergencies and terrorist attacks. They lead or supplement medical care and other emergency services when resources are stressed or compromised.

Along with TCCTs, NDMS consists of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) — several of which recently deployed following deadly tornadoes in Kentucky and elsewhere in the Midwest — along with Disaster Mortuary Operations Response Teams, Victim Information Center Teams and National Veterinary Response Teams.

TCCT team members include physicians in critical care and emergency medicine, surgeons, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, paramedics, respiratory therapists, radiology technologists, surgical technologists and pharmacists.

“The first-in people who could care for critically ill and injured people,” as Heiss described them.

“We are strictly a federal asset. We serve the president, the vice president and any associated diplomats,” Heiss said, noting that despite being federal assets, they work with state and local professionals.

Teams range from 9 to 48 members each. They’re tasked to conduct specific trauma-related tasks at field hospitals and established facilities such as providing critical care, surgery, advanced trauma life support and much more.

Heiss once felt like he’d never join the TCCT. In February 2020, he and two other Geisinger professionals published a scholarly article in the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology Journal. It caught the attention of a TCCT member who reached out to Heiss. In time, doubts washed away as Heiss was invited to join.

“Geisinger is committed to supporting all our employees while volunteering in the Uniformed Services. We’re proud that our benefits make it easy for employees to serve both our community and nation,” said Chris Grill, program manager for military and veteran affairs for Geisinger.

There are eight CRNA’s on the TCCT and, Heiss believes, just two in Pennsylvania. He’ll remain employed with Geisinger and leaves for up to two weeks at a time when assigned a deployment.

Heiss said his diverse career portfolio prepared him for this. He’s worked in the streets and in hospital settings, handling sometimes uncontrolled and chaotic situations and remaining calm and on task. He said he feels prepared to join TCCT and thanked Geisinger for its support.

“It’s not really a matter of if but when some type of global event occurs and I need to leave suddenly,” Heiss said.