Longtime CRNA Champion Sen. Gordner Retires

Pennsylvania Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia County, is resigning his Senate seat on Wednesday to become counsel to interim President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County. 📷 File/Mark Pynes

State Sen. John Gordner, a Republican who has represented parts of northcentral Pennsylvania for the past three decades, will vacate his 27th Senatorial District seat on Nov. 30 to take a new role among the Senate leadership. He announced his decision Monday.

Gordner has been a longtime champion of nurse anesthetists, sponsoring the Senate measure (S.B. 416) that became law (Act 60 of 2021) last legislative session, granting formal title recognition to the state’s CRNAs.

Because of his work—and after more than a decade of legislative advocacy by CRNAs around the state—nurse anesthetists finally got the recognition they deserve. Until then, Pennsylvania had been one of just two states that failed to recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form, meaning CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses.

Besides title recognition, Act 60 also expanded the providers that CRNAs are permitted to work with to include podiatrists, and it clarified regulatory language as it pertains to physician involvement with anesthesia services, formalizing the status quo.

The push to formally recognize CRNAs was a family affair for Gordner.

His mother, Shirley (Kishbaugh) Gordner, was among just three student nurse anesthetists who comprised the first class at Williamsport Hospital and, in 1954, successfully completed examinations for membership in the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA).

Gordner isn’t leaving the legislature entirely. He will become counsel to interim Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, whose own daughter is a CRNA in another state.

💙On behalf of PANA, we extend a heartfelt thank you to John Gordner for all he did and congratulated him and wish him the best of luck in his new role.

AFP-PA Praises Gov. Wolf Signature on Nursing Compact and CRNA Title Designation Bills

JUL 1, 2021 BY AFP

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Today, Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania (AFP-PA) applauds Gov. Wolf’s decision to sign these two key bills into law will expand access to health care across the Commonwealth. The grassroots group supported these bills that will make temporary waivers and licensure flexibilities proven to be effective during COVID-19 permanent.

AFP-PA State Director Ashley Klingensmith issued the following statement:

“Signing these two reforms into law sends a clear signal that our lawmakers in Harrisburg understand the value nurses bring to benefit patients and the need to empower them even more within their respective fields by broadening their reach. We are optimistic that these reforms will inspire additional consideration for further innovations in telemedicine and expanded scope of practice with the Health Care Innovations act. Our lawmakers must continue to pave the way for the removal of additional barriers to continue to increase accessibility to higher quality and more affordable care for Pennsylvanians as we exit the pandemic.”

New Law Clarifies ‘Informed Consent’ Related to Anesthesia Care

Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

New Law Clarifies ‘Informed Consent’ Related to Anesthesia Care

Act address unintended consequences of 2017 Supreme Court ruling

HARRISBURG (July 1, 2021) --- Gov. Tom Wolf has enacted a new law that remedies the years-long fallout from a complex ruling by the state’s top court that had the unintended consequence of restricting the administration of anesthesia.

Issues related to “informed consent” were brought about by the state Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCare) Act, under the Shinal v. Toms case, regarding a physician’s ability to delegate the duty to obtain the informed consent of a patient prior to specified procedures.

The court’s interpretation, part of a June 20, 2017, ruling, impacted patient care by ruling that only a physician can obtain informed consent.

The ruling had a profound effect on advanced practice providers like certified registered nurse anesthetists, especially those who work without physician anesthesiologists, because it made the surgeon, who is not an anesthesia expert, responsible for talking to a patient about anesthesia care and obtaining their consent.

Anesthesia teams comprising CRNAs and anesthesiologists also were affected. In many cases, CRNAs would obtain their own consents prior to the ruling. But after the court handed down its decision, anesthesiologists had to pulled off other tasks to perform this duty, affecting workplace flow for patient care.

This new law essentially clarifies that while physicians remain responsible for the overall care of their patients, the task of obtaining a patient’s informed consent may be delegated by a physician to a qualified practitioner, including CRNAs.

“We heard from CRNAs across Pennsylvania over the years how this ruling really affected day-to-day procedures, making their work more challenging and causing confusion among patients during what is already a stressful time,” 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.

The measure (S.B. 425), sponsored by state Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), received unanimous approval in both the Senate and House. With the governor’s signature, the legislation now becomes Act 61 of 2021.

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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