FPD Message MYA 2011 – Washington, DC

September 6, 2011

Hey all my CRNA Colleagues and Constituency across Nevada,

This is an exciting time for our Nevada Association of Nurse Anesthetists, which has been quite a year for your elected and appointed officers who are working hard in re-establishing a viable Association with definitive goals.  We have many issues NVANA is tackling; one major challenge was defeating Bill SB258, thanks to our former President Steve Sertich who fought hard for our cause. Steve’s emails called us to take action by contacting our legislature to vote against this Bill. Steve has been on top of this subject, which effectively blocked the AA program from going any further, for now. But, we must be prepared to revisit the debate in two years, doing our homework to bring this Bill (SB258) to defeat, definitively. As always, we must continue to be diligent in our efforts to protect our practice in Nevada. Thank you Steve Sertich…!!!

AANA Mid-Year Assembly CRNA Federal Government Issues for 2011 on Capitol Hill

I have the pleasure of representing our Nevada Association of Nurse Anesthetists by serving as your Federal Political Director. In April, past President, Steve Sertich, President-Elect, Steve Hamilton (now President), and I, had the opportunity to canvas on Capitol Hill on core issues that affect all citizens across our nation. Nurse Anesthesia Care Is Critical to our Community to Promote Competition, Choice, and Cost Savings in Patients’ Healthcare.

The 43,000 members of the AANA represent over 90 percent of all CRNAs, who safely administer some 32 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States, which predominates in rural and medically underserved America, as well as, in our Veterans and Military HealthCare Systems.

Evidence Shows CRNAs Help Make Healthcare More Accessible, Work Better, and Cost Less. CRNAs Provide Access to Safe and Affordable HealthCare. We are the backbone of our HealthCare system and play a major role in HealthCare delivery. We must be an active part of the discussion to come up with smart strategies in solving our HealthCare crises to ensure that all CRNAs are full partners in redesigning HealthCare.  As evidenced by the following:

  1. Research published in Health Affairs in August 2010, which concluded that there is “No Harm Found when Nurse Anesthetists Work without Supervision by Physicians.” 
  2. A Lewin Group study published May-June 2010 in the journal Nursing Economic$, which found that Nurse Anesthesia care is the most cost effective model of anesthesia delivery.  
  3. Outcome of the newest major study, The Institute of Medicine (IOM), “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” who recommend that advanced practice registered nurses (CRNAs) should be able to practice to the full extent of their education and training.  

Protecting Provider Nondiscrimination:

HealthCare Plans shouldn’t be able to discriminate against a whole class of Healthcare Providers solely on the basis of licensure of anesthesia providers; we must prevent others from defining our practice and promote patient access to HealthCare.

Support Patient Access to Quality Care through Nurse Workforce Development Funding:

Legislation Congress enacted providing $200 million over four years through a Graduate Nursing Education demonstration project.

  1. It must be implemented with funding for the Title 8 Nurse Workforce Development program, so it’s preserved to ensure patient access to quality care now, and in the future.
  2. Reverse 21.2% Medicare CRNA and Physician Payment Cuts.

All appointments with Legislator’s and Representative’s took place on Wednesday April 13, 2011: Addressing all issues as stated above…

Steve Sertich, Steve Hamilton, and I (Phyllis Kantor, FPD), met with the following Congressional Leaders on Capitol Hill:

  • U. S. House of Representative Dean Heller (R-NV-2nd district), now Senator, replacing John Ensign in U.S. Senate.
  •  U. S. House of Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV-1st district), now running for Senate in 2012.
  •  U. S. House of Representative Joe Heck (R-NV-3rd district).
  •  Assistant Griffin Doherty to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).

The conversation is ongoing… Please give suggestions and ideas to your leadership; be part of the solution of CRNA practice by preventing others from defining our constituency. As we go forward, we will continue to be the backbone of our HealthCare system, which enables us to practice to the full extent of our education and training.

I look forward to meeting all those CRNAs attending our NVANA meeting in Mesquite on Sept. 17, 2011. Be sure to check out our new and improved NVANA website often: www.nvana.org

See you soon,

Phyllis Kantor, CRNA, MSN

Federal Political Director NVANA

 

 Steve Hamilton, President; Steven Sertich, Region 5 Director; and Phyllis Kantor, FPD

Pictured with Congressman Dean Heller

Steven Sertich, Phyllis Kantor, and Steve Hamilton

Pictured with Congressman Joe Heck

Steve Hamilton, Phyllis Kantor, and Steven Sertich

Pictured with Congresswoman Shelley Berkley

Phyllis Kantor pictured with Frank J. Purcell, Senior Director Federal Government Affairs American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

 Steven Sertich, Region 5 Director; Phyllis Kantor, FPD; and Steve Hamilton, President