Fellow NYSANA Members:
Happy New Year! I am excited for what’s in store for our association in 2021. We have exciting updates to share as we kick off the year.
Legislative Update
The New York State Legislature began a new legislative session on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 when they convened virtually to elect their leadership. The legislative session is scheduled to run through mid-June, and we anticipate that this session will likely be done fully remotely. We are also anticipating that the focus for now will be on the budget and figuring out how to balance a $15 billion deficit. As this is the start of a new legislative session, all bills must be reintroduced. We are in the process of working on getting our scope of practice legislation introduced in both houses. As soon as we have the new bill numbers, we will pass that information along.
We are also pleased to report that the executive order issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo in March, which suspended the health code to remove the supervision requirements for advanced practice registered nurses with a doctorate or master’s degree specializing in the administration of anesthesia, has once again been extended. Executive Order 202.87 extended this suspension until January 29, 2021. We anticipate that this order will continue to be extended until the pandemic is more controlled and most New Yorkers have received the vaccine.
As a reminder, we encourage each of you to work closely with your facilities as it is a facility decision on how to interpret the Governor’s executive order. As the new legislative session begins, we are focused on our scope of practice legislation and will continue to talk with both houses and the Governor’s office about passing this legislation into law and finally recognizing the profession in New York and removing unnecessary practice restrictions. We will send more information on how you can get involved and help this effort once the bill has been introduced, and we have a better idea of whether we will be contemplating a lobby day in Albany or virtually.
CRNA Week
CRNA Week 2021 is right around the corner, and our leadership has been busy planning a fun-filled week to celebrate our profession. Please be sure to monitor social media for these announcements.
As part of our celebration of CRNA Week, we would like to highlight the many different faces of our association on social media. Please share an on-the-job photo with some information about why you became a CRNA and what you love about the profession. All submissions can be sent to [email protected].
As always, thank you for your commitment and dedication to our profession and our association. We look forward to what’s ahead in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Yana Krmic
President, NYSANA
