January 12, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year. We hope you had a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

The beginning of a year is the perfect time to take a deep breath and reflect on our actions of the recent past and plan for the outcomes we hope for in the new year.

You have elected us to represent YOU at the highest level. As a board, we take that responsibility seriously and have been working diligently over the first four months of our term with AANA CEO Bill Bruce to Advance, Support and Protect our profession.

In our first message of CY2026, we would like to share some of our activities from the first quarter and how we will continue to advocate for you in the coming year.

An amendment to the AANA Bylaws passed by members in August 2024 took effect this year, adding two new regions and two new board members. This change creates more geographically manageable regions and allows directors to more effectively and efficiently represent their regions. The table below lists the states included in each region and which board member is your representative.

Together with President Jeff Molter, President-elect Tracy Young, Vice President Jennifer Banek, and Treasurer Randy Cornelius, these directors dove into an incredibly busy first quarter. Here are just some of the activities and initiatives the board took on individually and as a group over the past few months.

Advocacy engagement: From CRNA school talks, Zoom calls with state leaders, and presentations at conferences and meetings on topics such as patient safety, peripheral nerve blocks, leadership, cannabis, and anesthesia business.

Publications and media presence: Articles published in nursing journals; contributions to Becker’s and Substack; first-person narratives and videos shared on social media to further drive awareness of who we are and what we do; and podcast appearances.

Participation in an AANA Leadership Bootcamp in Chicago and a Board of Directors Strategy Planning Meeting that focused on driving a vision and path towards the creation of the new AANA strategic plan.

Advocacy priorities continue into the new year

Our federal team in DC continues to work on addressing two of our main priorities: Department of Education loan limitations for CRNA residents and on holding insurers accountable for discriminatory policies toward CRNA/nurse anesthesiologist services.

You will see more actions on these fronts. Please look for our CALLS TO ACTION, which will require ALL of us to be engaged in policy changes.

Beginning a new year with gratitude

As always, thank you for supporting your profession, colleagues, and patients through your AANA membership. As your AANA Board of Directors, we are honored to serve you, and we look forward to tackling the challenges that lie ahead in 2026.

Sincerely,

The AANA Board of Directors

In This Issue

Get Ready to Comment on Department of Education’s Proposed Rule on Student Loan Caps

AANA-supported Letter on Student Loans Signed by 148 Members of Congress

AANA Endorses Anesthesia for All Act

Last Chance: Nominate a Federal Advocacy Leader by Jan. 15

Final Deadline for 2026 Election Nominations is this Thursday

AANA Honors Excellence in Nurse Anesthesiology Education

Advocacy Updates

Get Ready to Comment on Department of Education’s Proposed Rule on Student Loan Caps

As AANA Federal Government Affairs (FGA) continues advocacy with the Department of Education (ED) and Congress on including future CRNAs in the higher student loan cap passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), we are also preparing for issuance of the ED’s proposed rule. ED could release their proposed rule on this issue at any time through early 2026. 

It is important to flood the ED with comments in support of future CRNAs. To start preparing, check out AANA’s fact sheet, advocacy timeline, and webinar. (Member login required for the webinar; scroll down to the section on Regulatory Priorities: The Department of Education’s proposed rule on student loan caps.) As soon as the proposed rule is released, all AANA members will receive a CRNAdvocacy Alert with instructions to submit a comment to ED. Please note that ED will not be counting identical comments, so personalizing the template comment is more important than ever. As always, all CRNAdvocacy Alerts are also posted on our action center.  

AANA-supported Letter on Student Loans Signed by 148 Members of Congress

On Dec. 12, 2025, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), along with Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) led a letter to the Department of Education calling for advanced practice nurses, including CRNAs, to be included in the definition of professional students. The letter was signed by 148 members of both parties in the House and Senate. You can read the full letter here.

AANA was a leader in working with congressional champions and the rest of the Nursing Community Coalition to secure the support for the letter. The letter specifically calls out the need for CRNAs to have access to the professional degree loan caps of $200,000 for a lifetime, and $50,000 annually. Multiple media outlets have picked up the letter, and AANA continues our advocacy on this issue.

AANA Endorses Anesthesia for All Act

In mid-December, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) re-introduced the Anesthesia for All Act, which would prohibit insurers from placing time limits on anesthesia reimbursement. The legislation was originally introduced last Congress after several insurers tried to put such policies in place.

AANA worked with the congressman’s office on the legislation, and the new language includes CRNAs. AANA President Jeff Molter, MSN, MBA, CRNA, was quoted in the release from Rep. Torres’ office. “The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology is proud to support the Anesthesia for All Act and we are grateful to Congressman Torres for reintroducing this important legislation,” said AANA President Jeffrey Molter, MSN, MBA, CRNA. “This legislation is an important part of holding insurers accountable for covering these necessary services and protecting patients and anesthesia providers like Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.”

The AANA continues to work with our champions in Congress and the Administration to make sure that insurers are held accountable for providing proper reimbursement for CRNA provided care.

Last Chance: Nominate a Federal Advocacy Leader by Jan. 15

Help spotlight a CRNA/nurse anesthesiologist whose federal advocacy is moving the profession forward. Nominate a leader for the Daniel D. Vigness Award to recognize outstanding grassroots engagement and political impact at the national level.

Nominations close this Thursday. Don’t miss the chance to recognize a CRNA/nurse anesthesiologist making a lasting impact. Submit a nomination

Significant News

Final Deadline for 2026 Election Nominations is this Thursday

Serving at the national level is an opportunity to help shape the future of our profession. The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2026.

Nominate yourself or a colleague.

Self/Member Nomination

State Association Nomination

Open positions include: 

One President-elect (one-year term)

One Vice President (one-year term)

One Treasurer (one-year term)

Four Directors (two-year term)

Four Leadership Identification Committee members (two-year term)

Three Bylaws and Resolutions Committee members (two-year term)

Learn more at the AANA Election Center.

Member Highlights

AANA Honors Excellence in Nurse Anesthesiology Education

AANA will present its Program Administrator, Clinical Instructor, and Didactic Instructor of the Year Awards at the EDGE Conference, Feb. 4-7, in Louisville, Kentucky. Established in 1991, these awards recognize the individual’s commitment to the profession of nurse anesthesiology and to the advancement of educational standards that further the art and science of anesthesiology and result in high-quality patient care.

Program Administrator of the Year Award: The 2026 Program Administrator of the Year is Lori Anderson, DNP, CRNA, APRN, FAANA. Anderson has served as the program director of the Rosalind Franklin University (RFU) Nurse Anesthesia Program, located in North Chicago, Illinois, since 2019. Her accomplishments include improving student clinical experiences, increasing and retaining a strong faculty body, and supporting innovative methods of learning. Read more.

Clinical Instructor of the Year Award: The 2026 Clinical Instructor of the year is Susan Newell, DNP, CRNA, FAANA. Newell serves as an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as a clinical instructor in Scranton, PA for the University of Scranton. Her teaching spans the full online Doctor of Nursing Practice curriculum, with emphasis on evidence-based practice, leadership, quality improvement, and healthcare policy. Read more.

Didactic Instructor of the Year Award: The 2026 Didactic Instructor of the Year is Carrie Bowman Dalley, PhD, MS, CRNA, FAANA. Bowman Dalley is the program director and an associate professor in the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program in the Berkley School of Nursing at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She is the course director of “Anesthesia Pharmacology,” “Advanced Pharmacology,” and serves as the first and second reader for several DNAP Scholarly Projects. Read more.

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