Owens: Proposed bill would empower Virginia nurse anesthetists
Note: This column was published in The Virginian-Pilot. Proposed bill would empower Virginia nurse anesthetists By Derek Owens, DrAP, CRNA Every year across the country, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) — also known as nurse anesthesiologists or — safely administer more than 58 million anesthetics to patients. During National CRNA [...]
Support HB 2391 — End Supervision of Virginia’s CRNAs
Urgent action is needed in the General Assembly now! Please contact the House Health and Human Services Committee today and tell them to support HB 2391, legislation that would end supervision of CRNAs in Virginia and expand patient access to safe, high-quality anesthesia care. This legislation is expected to come [...]
Stop SB 882 — CAAs are bad medicine for Virginia
Urgent action in the General Assembly is needed now! Please contact the Senate Health Professions Subcommittee today and tell them to oppose SB 882 , which allows CAAs to practice in Virginia. This legislation is expected to come before the subcommittee on Friday, January 17, at 8:30 AM. In short, SB 882 licenses [...]
Join us at the 2025 Legislative Summit
Legislators and staff, please join VANA members from 8:00 – 11:00 AM on Thursday, January 23 in House Subcommittee Room 10 in the Virginia General Assembly Building for the 2025 Legislative Summit. CRNAs from across Virginia will gather to engage with policymakers and stakeholders on the important issues facing anesthesia [...]
VANA Supports HB 2391: Removal of Supervision for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists
Del. Mark Sickles has introduced legislation, House Bill 2391, that maintains the CRNA and physician relationship in Virginia’s Code but replaces “supervision” with “consultation” to reflect what’s happening in Virginia's surgical facilities today. In late 2024, the Joint Commission on Health Care found that both anesthesiologists and CRNAs provide safe, [...]
VANA Opposes SB 882 & HB 1647: Bills Will NOT Solve the Anesthesia Workforce Problem in Virginia
Sen. Mamie Locke and Del. Cliff Hayes Jr. have introduced legislation, Senate Bill 882 and House Bill 1647, respectively, that would direct the Board of Medicine to establish criteria for licensing a brand-new category of anesthesia provider called “anesthesia assistant,” also known as Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs). Unfortunately, licensing CAAs [...]
Joint Commission on Health Care Overview
The Virginia legislature’s Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) released its report titled Strategies to Strengthen the Anesthesia Workforce in Virginia in late 2024. The report highlighted several key points that are critical to understanding the value Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) provide to patients in Virginia as anesthesia experts. [...]
Senator Boysko Interview
This month, VANA spoke with State Senator Jennifer Boysko, who represents the 38thSenate District in Virginia in Northern Fairfax County. This is Senator Boysko’s 10th year in the General Assembly, during which she has served three years in the House before moving to the Senate. Senator Boysko, why were you drawn [...]