On June 30th, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill 416, now Act 60 of 2021, which grants formal title recognition to Pennsylvania’s certified registered nurse anesthetists.
Pennsylvania and New York were the only two states that did not recognize “certified registered nurse anesthetist” in some form. With no definition for nurse anesthetists under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, CRNAs were recognized only as registered nurses. Act 60 also expands the providers with whom CRNAs are permitted to work and it clarifies regulatory language as it pertains to physician involvement with anesthesia services, formalizing the status quo. The measure also includes cooperation language to define the relationship CRNAs have with their physician colleagues.
Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA) is the state association for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), representing more than 3,700 CRNAs and students across the commonwealth.
CNHP's Lew Bennett, CRNA, program chair and assistant clinical professor for the Nurse Anesthesia Program, is currently serving as president-elect for PANA and will transition PANA president, serving a one-year term in October.