AANA Presents Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director Award to PANA

The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) honored Lt. Col. Laura Wiggins, DNP, CRNA, with the Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director Award at its Mid-Year Assembly, held in Washington, D.C. on April 2-6. Wiggins, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), is staff CRNA with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh and chief nurse for the critical care transport team in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

“It is an honor to receive the Federal Political Director Award. Promoting and safeguarding the profession and helping to work towards regulations and legislation that allow CRNAs to practice at their full scope has been both an honor and a privilege,” Wiggins said. “However, all my work could not be accomplished without the support of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists and my employers. I thank them for providing me with the resources and time to build the relationships that have allowed me to be a successful advocate for all CRNAs.”

Wiggins has been the Federal Political Director (FPD) for the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) for the past two years and serves on its Board of Trustees. In 2019 she helped lead more than 180 CRNAs and students enrolled in nurse anesthesiology programs to lobby in Harrisburg on behalf of the profession. She is the former Chief Nurse for the 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron and former Critical Care Air Transport Team member and has been deployed to support numerous international situations throughout her career.

According to her nominator, Wiggins is a natural leader with a passion for nurse anesthesia. “Whether leading a medical team as the anesthesia director for military operations in Kyrgyzstan, or providing obstetric anesthesia in Pittsburgh, Laura carries herself with a sense of dignity and skill that reflects the best of our profession.”

In addition, she was lauded for her hands-on leadership early in the COVID-19 pandemic. According to her nomination, weeks before Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf even issued a formal stay-at-home order for the commonwealth, the PANA board began researching options to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to its members. Wiggins relied on her military expertise to review mask options and determine the best fit for PANA to provide to members to keep them safe.

“Laura knew early on how important it was for PANA to not disrupt the supply chain already working on PPE for local hospitals and other facilities around Pennsylvania,” cited her nomination. “Therefore, she spearheaded a discussion with a small 3D printing company in southwestern Pennsylvania. Wiggins began to work with the co-owner of the company to design a 3D-printed mask that would keep our members safe. Laura Wiggins oversaw all of the details, even recruiting a biochemist and an engineer from Stanley Black & Decker to support the cause. After numerous back-and-forth phone calls, texts, virtual calls, and prototype designs, the mask was ready to offer to members as a complimentary benefit. In the initial two hours of sending the e-mail to alert members about the free product offering, PANA received over 400 requests. When completed, PANA shipped over 1,200 PPE masks around the state within four weeks, and this was largely due to the work of Lt. Col Laura Wiggins.”

She is a clinical instructor at the University of Pittsburgh Nurse Anesthesia Program for various courses, including Difficult Airway Course; Regional Anesthesia; and Obstetrics Anesthesia. As a critical care nurse in the Air Force Reserves, Wiggins directly supervises more than 60 medical military personnel while managing all nursing services and flight member activities. In addition, she is an independent contractor with Anesthesiology Services Network, providing anesthesia services for a Level One Trauma Center with 24 operating rooms and diverse areas, including neurosurgery, vascular, thoracic, orthopedics, general, gynecology, pediatrics, trauma, and obstetrics.

Wiggins received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pennsylvania State University in State College, and a master’s degree in nursing with a specialization in nurse anesthesia area from Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. She earned a Doctor of Nurse Practice degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

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 Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director Award

The Federal Political Director of the Year Award, established in 2001, was renamed the Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director Award in 2013 in tribute and memory of its first winner. It is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the national healthcare agenda of CRNAs by coordinating grassroots CRNA involvement at the state level or through special contributions to the federal political process.

Pennsylvania SRNA Receives National Accolades

A Pennsylvania nurse anesthesia student received the 2020 AANA Student Excellence Award.

Ryan Wade, a senior at the Allegheny School of Anesthesia/La Roche University, accepted the award during the virtual Annual Congress.

The national award is an annual honor presented to a student in good academic standing who demonstrates outstanding leadership and professionalism, participates in activities that help foster a positive public image of nursing, and engages in activities that support health care.

Wade demonstrated his capacity for leadership and professionalism during his first clinical rotation when he took swift action to help a nurse found unresponsive on the floor. He immediately began CPR and called out for help, remaining calm as he continued providing care. Wade’s actions and competence helped her survive the cardiac arrest, intact cognitively. Her subsequent care uncovered additional complications, and though she later passed away, the family kept in contact with Wade, inviting him to attend her memorial service.

He also maintained academic excellence while being active with PANA. Wade has been an advocate for CRNAs in Pennsylvania by serving on PANA’s Government Relations Committee. He was an active member of the committee for two terms, having participated in numerous events. Wade met with state legislators and committees, including legislative leaders such as former Speaker of the House Mike Turzai and the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee. His efforts also extended to the federal level, having met with Vice-President Mike Pence.

"Ryan is a leader among his peers and has consistently exceeded our expectations these past two years,” said PANA Director of State Government Affairs Jessica Poole, DNAP, CRNA. “His drive and enthusiasm is contagious and his wisdom and insight exceeds well beyond his level of training. He represents our profession with tact and professionalism."

Locally, he displayed his professional promise and capabilities of serving the community by serving as a PANA spokesperson to WTAE, a Pittsburgh news channel. During the broadcast, he demonstrated proper use of PPE and informed the public of PANA’s purchase of 3D N-95 masks, intended to support Pennsylvania CRNAs working with COVID-19 patients.

“I envision he will continue in his efforts to privately and publicly represent our profession as a knowledgeable, competent and pre-eminently invested CRNA after graduation,” said Allegheny School of Anesthesia Program Director Deborah Davison, DNAP, MS, CRNA. “I am very proud of his accomplishments and feel confident that he is deserving of this award as recognition for his hard work.”

PANA applauds Ryan Wade’s achievements as an SRNA and congratulates him on this well-deserved national recognition.

PANA Supports Members’ PPE Needs by Purchasing Masks

Pittsburgh TV station WTAE-TV 4 (ABC) recently featured a piece about the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) investing $40,000 to purchase 1,000 masks for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial for CRNAs, and the shortage of some material has been alarming. CRNAs often work with patients’ airways and perform intubations and other procedures. COVID-19 is a respiratory pandemic that is spread through coughing or sneezing, so our members are up close and at great risk.

To protect its members, the PANA board voted in March to have masks made for members who need them, or for those who may have been working in facilities where PPE was limited or quantities were diminishing. The focus was on those in hospitals in direct response and others in high-need areas.

All of this came after guidance came from the federal government that during shortages, any facial covering, even a bandanna, would be better than nothing.

At first, PANA allocated $20,000 for a first run of 500 masks. That first run was nearly accounted for in 48 hours. (CRNAs were made aware of the masks via email.) The board then allocated another $20,000 for 500 masks. All told, PANA is investing $40,000 for 1,000 masks.

These are not basic cloth masks, but rather advanced prototypes. The masks have been innovatively designed after extensive review of a variety of mask prototypes used by healthcare professionals. The masks are reusable and feature a filter, with three replacements.

The manufacturing is being done through a vendor from Evans City --- Ifft Enterprises, LLC, in Evans City in western Pennsylvania. Among the first order, and this is a large order, about 61 percent of the masks were manufactured in Evans City; the balance were made in Michigan by a subcontractor Ifft Enterprises works with during periods of high demand.

Each CRNA must request the mask individually. The manufacturer then ships the masks directly to the CRNA. But PANA is underwriting the full cost --- both manufacturing and shipping.

We are proud of the work CRNAs are doing to respond to this crisis and remain committed to doing all we can as an association to keep our CRNAs healthy and safe so they in turn can keep patients healthy and safe.