Letter congratulates new VA Secretary and offers solutions to addressing important healthcare needs

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) has congratulated newly confirmed Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins and called on him to grant full practice authority to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) across the VA health system, a move that would expand veterans’ access to essential high-quality anesthesia care.

In a letter to Secretary Collins, AANA President Janet Setnor, MSN, CRNA, Col. (Ret), USAFR, NC, emphasized the crucial role of CRNAs in delivering comprehensive anesthesia services to veterans. Approximately 1,100 CRNAs serve in the VA health system, providing expert anesthesia and pain management care across diverse clinical settings.

“We are ready to work with Secretary Collins to eliminate unnecessary practice restrictions and strengthen the VA’s ability to serve our veterans,” said Setnor. “CRNAs are uniquely positioned to address the current shortage of anesthesia providers in the VA health system through their autonomous practice capabilities and extensive training.”

The AANA’s outreach highlighted several key points supporting enhanced CRNA utilization in VA facilities:

• CRNAs already practice autonomously in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Indian Health Service
• CRNAs represent 80% of anesthesia providers in rural communities
• Independent studies, including research by Temple University, support removing restrictions on CRNA practice within the VA system
• The National Standards of Practice initiative provides a pathway for implementing CRNA full practice authority

The AANA has requested a meeting with Secretary Collins to discuss several solutions for the VA’s anesthesia provider shortage and to explore opportunities to improve the quality of healthcare delivery for veterans within the VA health system through the efficiency and flexibility that CRNA full practice authority would provide.

About AANA

CRNAs are anesthesia professionals who safely administer more than 58 million anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. CRNAs practice in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered: traditional hospital surgical suites and obstetrical delivery rooms; critical access hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; ketamine clinics; the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, and pain management specialists; and U.S. military, Public Health Services, and Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities.

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SOURCE American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

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