President’s ReportSpring 2011Hello Fellow CRNAs! I am so excited to be writing this letter to all of you since it means one very important thing, spring is just around the corner! Please come join us at our Spring Meeting! We have a great meeting in store for your CME pleasure. A few things will be changing so PLEASE be aware!
This is a beautiful facility that promises a great meeting location as well as a myriad of activities and amenities surrounding the hotel for those after-hour pleasures. Check out Jordan Creek and West Glen Town Center to find out more! Website: Please take the time to visit our new website. It has just gone live and the website committee is working diligently to get the sections up and running! We want this to be a site that our members will use as a primary resource for anything involving CRNA practice and professionalism. Your ideas concerning content are truly appreciated! Legislative Reception: What a huge success! Over half of the entire Iowa General Assembly legislators turned out to hear about CRNAs and the issues affecting our practice. CRNAs from across the state came to Des Moines to meet with their legislators and drive home the impact that CRNAs have on the access to healthcare for Iowans. We are truly the backbone of anesthesia care in this state. Thank you, thank you, thank you for those who took the time to share your knowledge and passion! As I reflect on my almost 6 months as president of the IANA, I have come to realize all the hard work that is tirelessly contributed by a select few of our members to protect the practice of all CRNAs in this state. Almost immediately after the torch was passed, Judge Artis Reis declared a Stay of the IBON/IDPH Rules. Thank you to all the members who sprang into action to gather information that was instrumental in the transformation and clarification that this ordered stay was NOT an injunction on our practice! A huge triumph for CRNAs, but most importantly, the citizens of Iowa who rely on local qualified CRNAs to provide their chronic pain management needs under the guidance of fluoroscopy. Unfortunately the battle has only begun. Jim Carney is currently working along side all the interested parties in formulating the defense. The trial is slated for June 1-2, 2011. I will keep you posted as information becomes available. My only request of the CRNAs in this state is to please be ready to help if called upon. We all truly appreciate your willingness to assist in the success of our profession. Even though pain management has occupied the spotlight for what seems like forever, we are keeping our eyes and ears open for other issues that may arise. No legislation has been introduced thus far this legislative session, but we never let our guard down. It certainly will be wonderful if we don’t have to spend countless hours battling legislation, but we will if a situation develops. As I attend National AANA meetings, I feel that we, as CRNAs of this state, are truly blessed to have the scope of practice that past leadership has worked so hard to provide to each and every CRNA in this state. Many issues are cropping up around the country that are affecting CRNAs – Anesthesiologist Assistants, restrictions on Office Anesthesia, reimbursement, and many more! We need to be ready for the future. Pain management battles will not be the end! Be ready and willing to stand up for your profession and allow Iowa CRNAs to continue to enjoy the scope of practice that we enjoy today! Be involved and most importantly, be an active participant in your professional destiny! Respectfully Submitted, Past President’s ReportThanks for the MemoriesThis will be my last address to you all as President of your IANA. I can’t believe how fast this term has gone. At times I felt like I was behind the wheel of a car with a broken accelerator and no brakes: we raced along with little control of the direction! All in all, I have truly enjoyed this incredible learning opportunity and the chance to serve the profession I love and the IANA. I have learned many things from this experience, both good and bad. I have had the opportunity to be in the company of some incredible people who care a great deal for this profession and our future: a future all of us will enjoy that is made secure by a very dedicated few. I am forever humbled by the drive, intellect, foresight, and raw courage exhibited by my management team members Mindy Miller, Mary O’Brien, and Dave Pederson. Their contributions to the profession are without measure. I could carry on all day with stories of their contributions to the profession. Please take the time to thank them for keeping your practice intact! The IANA is also very fortunate to have Jim Carney, JD, as our Attorney/Lobbyist during these complex political times. Jim has been with the IANA for many, many years and is a well known and highly respected figure on Capitol Hill. We have truly benefitted from his keen political insight, personal contacts, and sharp intellect as we fought some difficult battles these past years. This former West Point Military Academy basketball coach turned lawyer has on more than one occasion pulled me aside during “teachable moments” for an inspirational pep-talk on the best course of action. We would not be where we are today without the work of this professional and his organization. Thank you, Jim! Thank you to the IANA Board of Directors and PAC Committee for their commitment and support to keep the IANA strong to fight the political battles that never seemed to take a holiday. This group is the bedrock of the organization. A new bright star in our organization is Tara Anderson from Grinnell, who has taken over the evolving role of IANA Association Manager. Tara has reorganized and energized the business of our association to make it a modern, efficient machine. She is also reworking the website to make it a more useful, informative tool for our membership. Thank you, Tara! Thanks to the many students and new graduates who helped whenever they could even though they had limited resources and time but nonetheless helped shape their new profession. They truly do understand that they are in charge of their destiny! Their enthusiastic efforts should put our apathetic membership to shame. By far the most frustrating aspect of being President of the IANA is the realization that so few continue to help out so many. If we would all contribute something, be it time or treasure, we could get so much more accomplished for the profession and for the people we serve in Iowa. What did we do for the IANA membership this term? Politically, this was a very challenging and rewarding time for the IANA. We kept several harmful bills and resolutions from ever leaving legislative committees to be voted on. These items would have had a disastrous effect on the professional practice of all CRNAs in Iowa, and a domino effect across the nation. While not every issue that we worked on ended the way we had hoped, a bigger and better outcome became apparent in the end. We successfully defended our profession here from those forces that meant to send us back to restriction and subservience, while educating and earning the respect of policymakers and the public. We have many friends in good places. That said, we are also a bigger target on the national level due to our successes. Iowa is one of many states fighting battles with organized medicine over various aspects of our practice. It will continue. Validation of our value to the people we serve and the industry we are part of has been recently published for all to see. If you have not done so, take the time to go to the AANA website and read the studies, “No Harm Found When Nurse Anesthetists Work Without Supervision by Physicians,” and “Study Shows CRNA-Only Anesthesia Delivery Most Cost Effective.” While we have all known this for years, external validation is priceless. When I started as your IANA President, I had a long “to do “list and grandiose ideas about all the things I wanted to accomplish in my term. But as Boxer Mike Tyson once so eloquently said, “Everybody has a plan till you get hit in the faith (face)!” I feel quite fortunate to be part of a group of CRNA professionals who kept your IANA intact, moved it forward, and ticked a few things off my list. I turn over the keys to the IANA machine ( a few scratches on it but running smoother than ever due to the crew that keeps it running), to your new President Mindy Miller. She is a remarkable leader, gifted communicator, and tireless visionary. She will be an incredible President for the Iowa Association of Nurse Anesthetists. With her will be a Board of Directors and Officers that other state CRNA associations only dream of. This is our time. We must keep the momentum going! Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your IANA President. Mark Odden, BSN, MBA, CRNA, ARNP |
