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Dear Secretary Robert A. McDonald:
As a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), I would like to express my full support for recognizing advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including CRNAs, in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) with Full Practice Authority.
APRN's and CRNAs practicing to the top of their training and expertise has been backed by decades of research. Not only does the Institute of Medicine report that anesthesia is 50 times safer than in the early 1980s, but a major study published in Health Affairs found that anesthesia care by CRNAs was equally safe with or without physician supervision. The safety of CRNA services is further underscored in that the VHA currently does not require anesthesiologist or physician supervision of CRNAs, and in a number of VHA facilities CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers.
I strongly urge you to move forward with the proposed change for APRNs and CRNAs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Amber Baxter
8836 Ebenezer Oaks Ln
Knoxville, TN 37922-1468
As an advanced practice nurse from a family of veterans, I support American veterans and their right to safe, timely and effective healthcare. Both my father and brother are combat veterans and have needed and received care at VA facilities. They put their lives on the line in service to our country, and I believe they deserve the best possible medical care without substantial delays and wait times. Advanced practice nurses provide safe and effective care within our scope of practice. Furthermore, APRNs bring nursing skills to their clinical practice, taking more time to educate and support patients to achieve goals of their choosing. Patient outcomes are equivalent if not better at times when cared for by nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists. I strongly support passage of this legislation without revision to grant all Advanced Nurse Practitioners full practice authority within the Veterans Healthcare System. This legislation does negatively affect or limit physicians who care for veterans in any capacity. It simply allows advanced practice nurses the ability to practice as they have been trained to do in all VA facilities. This will enhance and streamline healthcare provided to veterans. It is a logical extension of the health services the veterans and their dependents received on active duty and ensures that all who need care will receive it in the most timely and cohesive way possible. Interdisciplinary teamwork and care benefits all involved especially the veterans who receive the care they need from those who are trained and licensed to provide it.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Heavey, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.M.
Graduate Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Nursing
The College at Brockport
Dear Secretary Robert A. McDonald:
As a practicing CRNA, I would like to express my full support for the proposal to recognize Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), with Full Practice Authority. This policy is supported not only by CRNAs, but by individual Veterans, national and local Veteran's organizations, and other healthcare providers around the country.
Granting APRNs, including CRNAs, the authority to practice to the full extent of their scope of practice and expertise will give the VHA the flexibility it needs to provide our Veterans with timely access to the high quality care they have earned. The wait-times our Veterans are experiencing are unacceptable, especially when there is a highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce already within the VHA ready to provide care.
I strongly urge you to move forward with the proposed change for APRNs and CRNAs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rob Burcham
1429 N 2nd St
Sheboygan, WI 53081-3529
As a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), I would like to express my full support for recognizing advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including CRNAs, in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) with Full Practice Authority.
APRN's and CRNAs practicing to the top of their training and expertise has been backed by decades of research. Not only does the Institute of Medicine report that anesthesia is 50 times safer than in the early 1980s, but a major study published in Health Affairs found that anesthesia care by CRNAs was equally safe with or without physician supervision. The safety of CRNA services is further underscored in that the VHA currently does not require anesthesiologist or physician supervision of CRNAs, and in a number of VHA facilities CRNAs are the sole anesthesia providers.
I strongly urge you to move forward with the proposed change for APRNs and CRNAs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Amber Baxter
8836 Ebenezer Oaks Ln
Knoxville, TN 37922-1468
As an advanced practice nurse from a family of veterans, I support American veterans and their right to safe, timely and effective healthcare. Both my father and brother are combat veterans and have needed and received care at VA facilities. They put their lives on the line in service to our country, and I believe they deserve the best possible medical care without substantial delays and wait times. Advanced practice nurses provide safe and effective care within our scope of practice. Furthermore, APRNs bring nursing skills to their clinical practice, taking more time to educate and support patients to achieve goals of their choosing. Patient outcomes are equivalent if not better at times when cared for by nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists. I strongly support passage of this legislation without revision to grant all Advanced Nurse Practitioners full practice authority within the Veterans Healthcare System. This legislation does negatively affect or limit physicians who care for veterans in any capacity. It simply allows advanced practice nurses the ability to practice as they have been trained to do in all VA facilities. This will enhance and streamline healthcare provided to veterans. It is a logical extension of the health services the veterans and their dependents received on active duty and ensures that all who need care will receive it in the most timely and cohesive way possible. Interdisciplinary teamwork and care benefits all involved especially the veterans who receive the care they need from those who are trained and licensed to provide it.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Heavey, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.M.
Graduate Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Nursing
The College at Brockport
Dear Secretary Robert A. McDonald:
As a practicing CRNA, I would like to express my full support for the proposal to recognize Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), with Full Practice Authority. This policy is supported not only by CRNAs, but by individual Veterans, national and local Veteran's organizations, and other healthcare providers around the country.
Granting APRNs, including CRNAs, the authority to practice to the full extent of their scope of practice and expertise will give the VHA the flexibility it needs to provide our Veterans with timely access to the high quality care they have earned. The wait-times our Veterans are experiencing are unacceptable, especially when there is a highly-trained, highly-skilled workforce already within the VHA ready to provide care.
I strongly urge you to move forward with the proposed change for APRNs and CRNAs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rob Burcham
1429 N 2nd St
Sheboygan, WI 53081-3529
