CRNAs Looking for Opportunities to Help Pa. with Vaccination Program

Pennsylvania’s certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) possess unique skillsets that have made our professionals critical to the state’s response to the health-care crisis caused by COVID-19. So many of you have worked long and hard to meet the growing demands of this pandemic.

Because of your commitment to patient health, many of you want to do even more.

CRNAs have been reaching out to the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) to examine ways our profession may be able to help the state implement and potentially expand its vaccination program by offering to support clinics or providing volunteers. With our high level of education and training, CRNAs are perfectly suited for the task at hand.

PANA has had discussions with the commonwealth during this critical juncture to offer our services and make sure they know about our willingness to take on a bigger role.

Unfortunately, at this early stage of the vaccine rollout and based on available supplies, the first phases of the program are locked in place. We will continue to work with the state on future opportunities as vaccinations progress in the weeks and months ahead.

If you want to make sure the state knows you are available to help, the Department of Health is encouraging individuals to register on Pennsylvania’s online registry for medical and non-medical volunteers: https://www.serv.pa.gov/.

If you want to stay on top of the work PANA is doing to offer its assistant, and any future opportunities that may arise from our work with the state, please visit https://www.pana.org/page/vaccineprovidercommitment.

Please note that these are two separate databases, and by signing up via the PANA site you are not adding yourself to a pool of volunteers. More information will be shared at a later date when it becomes available.

All of us at PANA are so proud of the work being done by CRNAs and SRNAs around the state, and we are so grateful that so many of you reached out to the association about your ideas on ways to help with the vaccination program. We have the same shared goals and will do all we can to help you so you can fulfill your mission to help others.

Day in the Life: CRNAs & COVID-19

By Sonya Brown, BS, MS, CRNA

In celebration of 2021 National CRNA Week, this article provides a brief history of the certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) profession, describes what it’s like to be a CRNA today during the COVID-19 pandemic, and details the ongoing importance of the state’s recent waiver of supervision requirements for CRNAs.

Historical Perspective: Can you believe that nurse anesthetists have been providing anesthesia services in the United State for more than 150 years? During the Civil War, nurses provided anesthesia services to wounded soldiers on the battlefield, and they soon became the predominant anesthesia provider for those on the frontline. Later, in 1956, CRNA credentialing came into existence. Today, CRNAs safely administer more than 49 million anesthetics each year in the United States. CRNAs also serve as the primary anesthesia provider in the vast majority of many rural and underserved communities. Peer-reviewed studies show that anesthesia care is nearly 50 times safer now than in was in the 1980s, and that there is no difference in the quality of anesthesia care provided between a CRNA and a physician-trained counterpart. CRNAs practice with a high degree of autonomy and carry great responsibility due to their extensive education, training, and licensure. It is estimated that by 2026, there will be a 31 percent increase in need for advanced practice nurses such as CRNAs. There already is a 60 percent shortage of CRNAs across the United States.

CRNAs & COVID-19: With the surge caused by COVID-19, CRNAs stepped up, masked up, and were given the opportunity to practice to their full extent and capabilities. With more patients in need, there simply were not enough skilled and trained providers to care for all these sick individuals. CRNAs were able to jump in immediately to care for these patients. Because of their training in critical care and airway management, CRNAs were able to offer support in intubations and airway management outside of the typical operating room setting. This included covering the emergency room, intensive care unit, and other critical care areas. In addition, CRNAs have played a vital role in invasive line insertion, managing sedation, monitoring labs and blood gases, as well as other diagnostic tests. They also continued to manage their patient’s anesthetic needs within the operating room. Because of all of this, CRNAs have been and continue to be one of the most important team members in the management of COVID-19 patients, while continuing their primary role of administering safe anesthesia for their patients.

State Waiver: Because there were and continues to be an increasing number of patients afflicted by COVID-19, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf temporarily waived CRNA supervision requirements, allowing CRNAs to utilize their unique skillset to help care for these sick individuals. (The waiver remains in effect as part of the governor’s ongoing disaster declaration.) This waiver allows CRNAs to play a critical role in the care of these patients and to be able to respond appropriately. The governor’s action also has made a huge impact in that more CRNAs are able to respond to this health-care crisis. As of right now, Pennsylvania remains one of only a few states where CRNAs are not recognized as advanced practice providers, something our association is fighting to change. CRNAs play a vital role in providing lifesaving airway and critical care management of those patients impacted by COVID-19. There are 33 states with no CRNA supervision in state law. Removing CRNA supervision permanently in Pennsylvania should be a top priority. We need to work with our associations and advocate for our profession at the state and federal levels. This would allow us to provide anesthetic services to our patients within our full scope of practice and to the best of our ability. Please support and advocate for CRNAs in Pennsylvania.

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To all the professionals in the field: Happy 2021 National CRNA Week!

CRNA Week Takes on New Meaning Amid COVID

It’s safe to say our 2021 National CRNA Week commemoration really is like no other before it. Because of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, all of us have had to confront personal and professional challenges we never thought we’d have to face.

Even now, more than 10 months after this health-care crisis began, response and recovery efforts continue.

But one thing is certain in these uncertain times: I’ve never been prouder to be a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) than I am today, and I’ve never been more honored to stand by your side as president of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA).

In the most ordinary situations, surgery and anesthesia can be intimidating or frightening. CRNAs provide families comfort and reassurance by never leaving their loved one’s side. When this pandemic separated families in crisis, our promise to be there for every heartbeat, every breath took on a whole new meaning.

Because of our advanced education and hands-on training, CRNAs are uniquely qualified to care for critically ill patients who are suffering because of this respiratory pandemic. Many CRNAs have been serving as frontline health-care workers, fulfilling critical roles inside and outside the operating room during this crisis.

In May, when the state granted a temporary waiver to suspend the CRNA supervision requirement, healthcare facilities jumped at the chance to tap into nurse anesthetists’ unique skillset --- and we rose up to meet the challenge.

By allowing CRNAs to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training, not only are more people familiar with what we do, but our work during this crisis 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 to continue to meet the growing demands of this pandemic. Our work affects lives.

This crisis still requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. Our health-care systems are still challenged to function above capacity. As long as response and recovery efforts continue, CRNAs will remain a critical part of the solution as “Experts You Trust. Care You Count On,” our theme this week.

On behalf of PANA, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every CRNA and student who has stepped up during these difficult times to represent our profession so honorably and serve patients and families so faithfully. If ever there was a time to commemorate what we do, then 2021 National CRNA Week is the time to do it.

Please be safe. And again, thank you for all you do.

Matt McCoy, DNP, CRNA

President

Pennsylvania Assn of Nurse Anesthetists