It’s hard to believe that in a mere six weeks, we will be wrapping up the 2024 AANA Annual Congress, August 2-6. We hope that you will join us, either in beautiful San Diego or virtually. Preparations are in high gear, not just for the Congress, but fiscal year 2025 as well.
The AANA Board of Directors has assigned the four newly elected at-large directors to AANA Regions 2, 3, 6, and 7 according to the AANA Board Policy for the FY25-FY26 terms. The new directors are listed below:
Region 2: Debra Diaz, DNP, CRNA, APRN, FAANA
Region 3: Daniel King, DNP, MNA, APRN, CRNA, CPPS
Region 6: Erin Foley, DNAP, MSNA, CRNA, FAANA
Region 7: Erik Rauch, DNP, MBA, CRNA, NSPM-C
The assignments were made based on the AANA 2024 Election (FY25) results according to a Board policy and reflect the bylaw amendment passed during the FY20 Annual Congress that changed the AANA electoral process from nominating director candidates from within the region to at-large nominations.
The incoming Fiscal Year 2025 Board of Directors is already preparing for an ambitious and exciting year, beginning with a Board Orientation session at the Rosemont office on June 13-15. The comprehensive onboarding program included various activities, notably an invaluable day-long workshop with a governance expert who provided insights into the principles of effective governance and their implementation within AANA.
In Memoriam
The AANA Board of Directors offers our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of former board member Todd Herzog. Todd passed away on June 5, 2024, in Kennewick, Washington. Along with serving as president of Washington Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Todd served on the AANA Board as Region 5 Director from 2007-2009; Treasurer, 2010-2011; and Vice President, 2011-2012.
Upcoming important events
Thursday June 27 – The proposed Bylaw Amendments and Resolution will be posted on the Business Meeting page of the Governance site in aana.com. Check the June 27 issue of Anesthesia Essential for the official notice and a link to the information.
Monday, July 22 – A Town Hall will begin at 7p.m. CT for members to learn about the proposed bylaw amendments and resolutions. Mark your calendars. Reminders will be in future issues of Anesthesia Essential and the biweekly Letter from the Board of Directors. Register for this interactive webinar Register for this interactive webinar here.
As always, thank you for everything you do, and for supporting your profession and your colleagues through your AANA membership.
AANA Requests that Any Facility Requirements for Obstetrical Services Recognize CRNAs Operating at the Top of their Scope in Comments on Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Proposed Rule
AANA Continues its Push for Prompt Promulgation of a Provider Nondiscrimination Regulation
AANA Requests Aetna to Rescind New Policy on Physical Status Modifiers for Medicare Advantage Plans
Attend the Rm8 iNoV8 Pitch Competition
AANA Issues Policy Considerations for the Management of Waste Anesthetic Gases
COA Launches Call for Comments on the Standards
Nurses on Boards Coalition Celebrates Decade of Impact with Free Microlearning
“More Than Just a Mission Trip”: Nurse Anesthesiology Resident Reflects on Helping Honduran Patients
ADVOCACY UPDATES
AANA Requests that any Facility Requirements for Obstetrical Services Recognize CRNAs Operating at the Top of their Scope in Comments on Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Proposed Rule
On June 5, the AANA submitted comments in response to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule for CY 2025. As part of these comments, AANA strongly urged that any facility requirements for obstetrical services recognize healthcare professionals operating at the top of their scope with respect to the delivery of obstetrical anesthesia, and to not impose any standards that are not evidence-based such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 2019 Levels of Maternal Care (LoMC). In the AANA letter to CMS signed by AANA President Dru Riddle, PhD, DNP, CRNA, FAAN:
“AANA cautions CMS on adopting any standards that use… LoMC[s] published by the ACOG, which are not uniformly based in evidence. The LoMC may have serious repercussions for maternal patients across the country, but especially in rural and other medically underserved areas; for the ob-gyns and CRNAs who provide maternal patient care; and for the facilities that serve this patient population. We request that CMS ensures that any [Conditions of Participation] CoPs that are implemented are evidence-based.”
The letter also requested that CMS clarify how anesthesia and hospital-based anesthesia providers fit into the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM). The letter also supported the focus on waste anesthetic gases (WAG) as part of its Decarbonization and Resilience Initiative and requested that CMS pilot test collection metrics on anesthetic gas before implementing on a large scale to ensure that data elements can be captured uniformly.
AANA Continues its Push for Prompt Promulgation of a Provider Nondiscrimination Regulation
In a letter to three agencies that released a request for information (RFI) on the consolidation of healthcare markets, AANA continued its push for prompt promulgation of a regulation on provider nondiscrimination. This law has not yet been implemented through the rulemaking process, making enforcement difficult. Our letter states that in the absence of meaningful enforcement of the statute, health plans and insurers have refused to allow our members in their networks or to contract with them, have reimbursed our members unequally for providing the same services physicians, and have imposed supervision requirements beyond what is required by state and federal laws. Even Congress has made clear that federal implementation of this law has not been sufficient, by enacting The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. It included Section 108 of the No Surprises Act law requiring the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (Tri-Agencies) to issue a proposed rule no later than January 1, 2022. However, the Tri-agencies have missed several deadlines for the promulgation of this rule. Continued discrimination based on licensure impairs access to needed healthcare services, increases patient cost-sharing, limits patient choice and healthcare market competition, and inhibits efforts to control healthcare cost growth. Therefore, we urge the promulgation of a strong and enforceable provider nondiscrimination rule that protects the needs of patients in all plans, enabling CRNAs to practice to their full scope without having to face barriers from health plan policies and practices.
AANA Requests Aetna to Rescind New Policy on Physical Status Modifiers for Medicare Advantage Plans
AANA President Dru Riddle, PhD, DNP, CRNA, FAAN, issued a letter to the private insurer Aetna asking them to rescind a new anesthesia policy that removes reimbursement for physical status modifiers in Medicare Advantage plans. The policy is supposed to take effect on July 15, 2024. The letter states that physical status modifiers have been used for decades and are used to assess and communicate a patient’s pre-anesthesia medical co-morbidities and can help predict perioperative risks. This new policy will negatively affect the patients that our CRNA members serve across the United States. AANA is strongly opposed to this change and requests a meeting with the Chief Medical Officer to discuss why Aetna should rescind this policy.
SIGNIFICANT NEWS
Attend the Rm8 iNoV8 Pitch Competition
The inaugural Rm8 iNoV8 Pitch Competition will be held August 5 at the AANA 2024 Annual Congress in San Diego. The competition will award $15,000 for first place; $10,000 for second place; $5,000 for third place; and $2,500 each for fourth and fifth place. Audience participation factors into scoring, so all Annual Congress attendees are encouraged to attend this exciting event. Participating companies include:
Synesthesia: Synesthesia is a modern anesthesia education solutions system designed by CRNA educators with ease of use in mind.
Triangle Airway Solutions fills the airway device gap with a comprehensive oral and nasopharyngeal airway design, Triangle Airway Solutions patented the Pharyngeal Bypass Airway system.
Ollivate assists poor long-term knowledge retention of nurse anesthesiology residents by using a gamified app to study anesthesia content.
HAI Solutions builds innovative medical devices which address the challenges and pitfalls associated with Intravenous Care and Vascular Access.
AI Enhanced Anesthesia leverages advanced artificial intelligence technologies to address challenges through several innovative approaches, such as predictive analytics, real-time decision support, and automated documentation and compliance.
Learn more about the Rm8 iNoV8 Pitch Competition and register today for Annual Congress.
AANA Issues Policy Considerations for the Management of Waste Anesthetic Gases
The AANA recently issued its policy considerations addressing the safe and effective disposal of waste anesthetic gases (WAG).
“As we celebrate World Environment Day in June, these policy considerations outline the steps that highlight the role of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in managing the control of WAG exposure and what actions can be taken to improve our environment by minimizing WAG,” says Cheryl Parker, DNP, CRNA, RNC-OB, FAWHONN, FAANA. “These policy considerations feature the most up-to-date resources for facilities that utilize inhaled anesthetic agents and for healthcare providers who may be exposed to WAG.” Read more.
COA Launches Call for Comments on the Standards
At its January 2024 meeting, the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) approved the opening of a Call for Comments on the Standards for Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs – Practice Doctorate. The COA now asks its community of interest to provide feedback as to whether the Standards are valid, reliable, and relevant indicators for measuring the quality of a nurse anesthesia program. To provide feedback, please take the Call for Comments survey.
The survey will take approximately 45 minutes to complete in one sitting; however, respondents will be able to save their progress and return to the survey via an emailed link. The COA will consider survey feedback, as well as comments gathered at Open Hearings held at the Assembly of Didactic and Clinical Educators, Mid-Year Assembly, and Annual Congress in 2024, to determine whether revisions to the Standards are needed. All Call for Comments survey responses will be confidential; COA will review the results of the survey in aggregate.
Please note: The survey includes the text of the Standards and Clinical Experience requirements only. Respondents should have a copy of the Standards on hand while completing the survey in order to reference footnotes and Glossary definitions.
Nurses on Boards Coalition Celebrates Decade of Impact with Free Microlearning
The year 2024 marks the Decade of Impact celebration for the Nurses on Boards Coalition (NOBC). AANA is a founding member of NOBC, which began in 2014 in response to the landmark 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” The report recommended increasing the number of nurse leaders in pivotal decision-making roles on boards and commissions that work to improve the health of everyone in America.
Jana Bailey, APRN, CRNA, who is AANA’s representative to the NOBC Board of Directors, created her Doctor of Nursing Practice project intervention, “Nurses on Boards Preparation Microlearning Program for CRNAs” to celebrate a decade of meaningful outcomes achieved through AANA’s partnership with NOBC. The microlearning program is free and has been prior approved by AANA for .75 Class A CE credit. Read more.
MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
“More Than Just a Mission Trip”: Nurse Anesthesiology Resident Reflects on Helping Honduran Patients
In the heart of Honduras, Resident Registered Nurse Anesthetist (RRNA) Karina V. Rivadeneira, BSN, RN, embarked on a transformative journey that surpassed the boundaries of her nursing education and experience. Read more.
The following is an FEC required legal notification for CRNA-PAC. Gifts to political action committees are not tax deductible. Contributions to CRNA-PAC are for political purposes. All contributions to CRNA-PAC are voluntary. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal. The guidelines are merely suggestions. You are free to contribute more or less than the guidelines suggest and the association will not favor or disadvantage you by reason of the amount contributed or the decision not to contribute. Federal law requires CRNA-PAC to use its best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and the name of the employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year. Each contributor must be a US Citizen.
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