December 2024 Newsletter

As my first term as your president ends, I want to update you on what we’ve done this year: our successes, struggles, goals, and what to expect in this upcoming year and beyond. If you read one update this year from NYSANA, make this it.

August 2024 Newsletter

by: NYSANA

Category: Public Relations

Aug

22

IN THIS ISSUE

AANA Amendments Passed at Annual Congress 2024
Q&A with Lobbyist Amy Kellogg
Please Respond! Work Environment for CRNAs in Rural Setting
Freelance Isn't Fee Act Impact on NY CRNA Practice
2024 Fall Meeting Hotel Update
Meet Our New Peer Wellness Chairs
DEI Committee Update

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July 2024 Newsletter

by: Nina LeBlanc

Category: Public Relations

Jul

23

IN THIS ISSUE

Government Relations & Legislative Update
2025 Legislative Strategy Discussion and Q&A
Discover the 2024 Fall Meeting Agenda
DNP Research Survey
Sign Up for Yankees Healthcare Appreciation Nights in August
Upcoming Important Dates

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June 2024 Newsletter

by: Nina LeBlanc

Category: Public Relations

Jun

10

IN THIS ISSUE

Government Relations & Legislative Update
Meet Your 2024-25 Slate of Candidates
Introducing the New DEI Committee & Goals
Get Involved — Searching for a New Peer Wellness Chair
Learn More About the Fall Meeting
Upcoming Important Dates

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Interview With Jake Forrester, CRNA

by: Carolina Meza Saenz, CRNA

Category: Public Relations

Interview with for Jake Forrester, CRNA

Why did you decide to become a CRNA?

In undergrad, I was taking the elevator during clinicals and a CRNA jumped in the same elevator. She asked me what my plans were for after school and immediately followed by telling me about her profession as a nurse anesthetist.
Since that encounter, every CRNA I met said they loved their job and wouldn’t want to do anything else.

How was your process of working towards becoming a CRNA? Did you have support and mentors?

I worked 2.5 years in the ICU before starting CRNA school. I didn’t have any mentors, so I used online outlets such as nurse and CRNA blogs.
Imposter syndrome was very real and I truly wasn't sure if I was able to do it. But, someone once told me: “nothing good comes easy. And the road to become a CRNA is no different” - this really kept me going and pushing myself towards my goal

How has your experience and background helped you care for minority patients of the LGBTQ+ community?

It is very important to understand the culture within this community. For example, knowing that transgender patients are the most marginalized patients in this community, or that care for the LGBTQ+ community is overall subpar.
As an openly gay man myself, many of my patients feel more comfortable confiding and sharing personal information that is common in the LGBT community with someone who understands this lifestyle. This ultimately leads to safer anesthesia and better patient outcomes.

What do you think we can improve on as CRNAs who provide care for the LGBTQ+ patient population?

Check your own biases and opinions before you even interact with patients, and be aware of your own limitations. Being open to learning from patients is crucial. In the end, regardless of our beliefs, we’re there to make sure our patients are safe and receive equal care. We can start by ensuring judgement free zones when we interview our patients in pre-op. Another great way to improve your knowledge is to team up with CRNAs that are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Be willing to ask questions and learn from them.
There are many hospitals across the country that provide gender-affirming surgeries (GAS). When patients come in for GAS procedures, there is a “GAS team” that includes providers trained to care for these patients and able to prioritize their specific needs. Every hospital should have a team that is comfortable and dedicated to these patients.

Something as little as a Pride pin on your badge can have a great impact. This allows patients to know that I am not there to judge them, from the moment I walk in the door. Patients are therefore more open to share information about their background and lifestyle behaviors.

Are there current policies in the facilities you work in tailored to awareness and support of LGBTQ+ patients?

At my current hospital, there is a hospital liaison that represents and guides the patient through the medical process. The liaison is present in preop, PACU, and during the rest of admission. Their role is to support the patient during their hospitalization.
What can we do to diversify our profession and support young residents who are part of this community?
Ideally, any CRNA that is part of this community should be proud and willing to share their story. Becoming more visible in this aspect will encourage other nurses to join the profession because they see themselves represented.
Another outlet could be by recruiting at nursing schools and other LGBTQ+ nursing associations to spread awareness about our profession.
Sponsoring events is also a great way to get our face out there. NYSANA could help sponsor the Pride parade and have a float where the general public and healthcare professionals see our support. Maybe setting an STI testing at a bar while having a CRNA run it, could also show support to our patient population.
And lastly, having a CRNA as part of the GAS team and becoming comfortable with providing care for these patients during their gender-affirming surgeries.

Are you working on any current projects that you would like to share with us?

I’m attending the AANA’s annual Congress this summer in San Diego, and will be speaking on "Anesthesia considerations for patients on PrEP for HIV prevention".
Numerous hospitals across the country are creating an anesthesia registry for transgender patients during gender affirming and non gender affirming surgeries. My Chief CRNA asked me if I was interested, so I am currently helping my hospital gather and organize this data.

April 2024 Newsletter

by: NYSANA

Category: Public Relations

Apr

29

IN THIS ISSUE

Government Relations & Legislative Update
FTC Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
Virtual Research Symposium
Upcoming District Events
NYSANA Fall Meeting in Saratoga Springs
National Nurses Week: Salute to Nurses
AANA Ballot update
Support the NYSANA PAC
Upcoming Important Dates

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March 2024 Newsletter

by: Nina LeBlanc

Category: Public Relations

Apr

15

IN THIS ISSUE

Advocacy Day Registration
ICYMI: Anesthesia in the News
Joint Board & Committee Meeting
Spring Symposium Update
District Events Update
Support the NYSANA PAC
Board Nominations Open
Goldie Brangman & Kathleen O'Donnell Awards
Upcoming Important Dates

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February Legislative Update

by: Nina LeBlanc

Category: Public Relations

Feb

20

Click here to read the February Legislative Update

February 2024 Newsletter

by: NYSANA

Category: Public Relations

Feb

12

The February Newsletter covers the following topics:

NYSANA Update, Mark Blazey
Support the NYSANA PAC
Get Involved with NYSANA
Upcoming District Events
Last Call to Submit Your Abstract
AANA Mid-Year Assembly
Kathleen O'Donnell Excellence in Leadership Award
Yankees Healthcare Appreciation Celebration

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January 2024 Newsletter

by: NYSANA

Category: Public Relations

Jan

18

The January newsletter covers the following topics:

NYSANA Update, Mark Blazey
CRNA Week events schedule

Times Union Letter to the Editor

by: Mark Blazey

Category: Public Relations

Jan

12

Legislature could improve rural health care with nurse anesthetist bill

Letter to the editor of the Times Union regarding Officials say updates N.Y. Health infrastructure in Danger, Dec 5, 2023

Mark Blazey, Rochester

For healthcare to remain viable in rural New York, lawmakers must address outdated healthcare delivery models and Medicaid reimbursement in anesthesia.

The primary providers of anesthesia in rural hospitals are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). Though highly trained, advanced practice providers, we face unnecessary barriers to practice. A CRNA’s scope of practice is not formally written into New York State law. New York is the only state to not formally recognize CRNAs, leading to staffing and financial shortages. Nearly a third of CRNAs trained in New York between 2018 and 2023 have left to practice in other states.

Some1500 CRNAs provide essential care to rural Medicaid patients yet lack of recognition in state law. As a result, hospitals may not be reimbursed for services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries --ruinous for New York’s rural healthcare system.

Additional barriers to practice, such as physician supervision of CRNAs, comes with an unnecessarily high price tag for patients and medical facilities; study after study prove this redundancy does not increase patient safety or improve outcomes. CRNAs have the skills, the education and expertise to provide rural patients with anesthesia care and pain management services and ensure access to care for populations that would otherwise have to travel long distances from their homes for treatment.

The legislature must pass S769-A/A6958-A, which would move the state toward innovative, evidence-based health care, increasing access to care in rural New York.

The writer is the president of the New York State Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Published December 25, 2023