CRNA Professional Designation Bill Signed into Law

Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kurt Knaus; P: 717-724-2866; E: kurt@ceislermedia.com

HARRISBURG (June 30, 2021) --- If you are a practicing certified registered nurse anesthetist in Pennsylvania --- and there are more than 3,000 of these health-care professionals in the commonwealth --- then you are finally recognized as a “CRNA.”

Gov. Tom Wolf today signed into law Act 60, which grants formal title recognition to the state’s certified registered nurse anesthetists.

Until this moment, Pennsylvania had been one of just two states that failed to recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form. With no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses.

That all changed with the governor’s signature.

The enactment also marks the end of a lengthy legislative push by CRNAs who have fought for more than a decade to secure professional recognition of their advanced education, specialized training, and clinical skills.

“This is a monumental victory,” said Matt McCoy, DNP, CRNA, President of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA), which represents more than 3,700 CRNAs and students in the commonwealth.

“Every day we go into work from this point forward will be a new day for CRNAs in Pennsylvania,” he said. “I am so proud of the job our CRNAs do and so impressed by the time they put in outside of work to advocate for this change in law. This is a shared victory among our entire profession.”

Both the House and Senate passed identical companion measures --- House Bill 931 sponsored by Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) and Senate Bill 416 sponsored by Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia) --- within days of each other in early June.

Gordner has had previous measures pass the Senate only to stall in the House --- until this year. His legislation finally made it through both chambers and to the governor’s desk.

“We could not be more grateful to the persistence of Senator Gordner and for the support both Senator Gordner and Representative Toohil have shown us over the years,” McCoy said.

Besides title recognition, the measure also expands the providers that CRNAs are permitted to work with to include podiatrists, and it clarifies regulatory language as it pertains to physician involvement with anesthesia services, formalizing the status quo. The measure also includes cooperation language to define the relationship CRNAs have with their physician colleagues.

For more information about certified registered nurse anesthetists in Pennsylvania, visit www.PANAforQualityCare.com or follow along on social media via Twitter at @PANACRNA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PANACRNA.

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Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kurt Knaus; P: 717-724-2866; E: kurt@ceislermedia.com

CRNA Professional Designation Measure Passes through General Assembly, Sent to Governor for

Enactment

HARRISBURG (June 25, 2021) --- Legislation that would finally grant formal title recognition to certified registered nurse anesthetists in Pennsylvania is on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf for enactment after the House passed a Senate-sponsored measure (S.B. 416) today.

Once the bill is signed into law, it will end Pennsylvania’s distressing status of being one of just two states (New York is the other) that fails to formally recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form. Because there is no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs are recognized only as registered nurses.

“We are so grateful to Sen. John Gordner and Rep. Tarah Toohil, both of whom have been longtime champions for CRNAs and worked so hard to get this legislation over the finish line,” said Matt McCoy, DNP, CRNA, President of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA), which represents more than 3,700 CRNAs and students in the state.

“Finally, CRNAs in Pennsylvania will get the recognition they deserve for their advanced training, education and clinical skills,” McCoy said.

Both the House and Senate passed identical companion measures within days of each other last week. House Bill 931 is sponsored by Toohil (R-Luzerne), but it was Gordner’s (R-Columbia) legislation (S.B. 416) that ran the full course of the legislative process.

Gordner has had previous measures pass the Senate only to stall in the House --- until this year. The issue has been under legislative review and debate for more than a decade.

CRNAs are the hands-on providers of anesthesia care, operating safely in every setting where anesthesia is administered, including: hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, ophthalmologists, and plastic surgeons; pain management centers and more.

Besides title recognition, the measure also expands the providers that CRNAs are permitted to work with to include podiatrists, and it clarifies regulatory language as it pertains to physician involvement with anesthesia services, formalizing the status quo. The measure also includes cooperation language to define the relationship CRNAs have with their physician colleagues.

Lack of professional designation brings logistical and financial challenges for CRNAs, who have to secure credentials in other states for some activities, including serving in the military. The pandemic revealed additional shortcomings, where health-care facilities wanted to use CRNAs to their fullest capacity but felt restricted by licensing standards.

But all that ends when Gov. Tom Wolf signs the measure into law. The governor has 10 days to sign the bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.

For more information about certified registered nurse anesthetists in Pennsylvania, visit www.PANAforQualityCare.com or follow along on social media via Twitter at @PANACRNA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PANACRNA.

House Passes Professional Designation for Nurse Anesthetists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kurt Knaus; P: 717-724-2866; E: kurt@ceislermedia.com

House Passes Professional Designation for Nurse Anesthetists

Vote marks first time House has ever approved the CRNA bill

HARRISBURG (June 15, 2021) --- For the first time ever --- and after more than a decade of legislative review --- the state House of Representatives passed legislation that would finally grant formal title recognition to certified registered nurse anesthetists.

“This is more than just a vote of approval,” said Matt McCoy, DNP, CRNA, President of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA), which represents more than 3,700 CRNAs and students in the state. “This is a monumental achievement for CRNAs in Pennsylvania.”

Pennsylvania is one of just two states that fails to formally recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form. Because there is no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs are recognized only as registered nurses, despite their advanced education and specialized training.

Last week, the House Professional Licensure Committee unanimously approved the measure (H.B. 931), sponsored by state Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne). With passage by the full House, the measure now goes to the Senate, which is advancing its own companion measure (S.B. 416), sponsored by state Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia).

The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee unanimously approved Gordner’s measure last week. It is on track for consideration by the full Senate this week.

This is the farthest a CRNA title bill has ever advanced in the House, and it marks the first time that professional designation legislation for CRNAs has advanced beyond the committees in both chambers during the same legislative session.

Lack of professional designation brings logistical and financial challenges for CRNAs.

Pennsylvania-based nurse anesthetists who serve in the military must secure designation in another state to provide anesthesia in the armed services. They cannot assist on rapid response teams in states affected by natural disasters because they lack formal credentials. And, after receiving training in Pennsylvania, many nurse anesthetists relocate to states with full credentialing, contributing to the state’s “brain drain” of talented health-care professionals.

The pandemic revealed additional shortcomings.

In response to COVID-19, many CRNAs wanted to contribute more to the facilities where they work but could not. Likewise, hospitals and other health-care institutions wanted to use CRNAs to their fullest capacity during a time of crisis but could not. Many facilities felt restricted by the way the state licenses CRNAs and would not allow nurse anesthetists to provide advanced, critical care services, even though it is within their clinical experience and scope of practice.

CRNAs are the hands-on providers of anesthesia care, operating safely in every setting where anesthesia is administered, including: hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, and plastic surgeons; pain management centers and more.

For more information about certified registered nurse anesthetists in Pennsylvania, visit www.PANAforQualityCare.com or follow along on social media via Twitter at @PANACRNA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PANACRNA.

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