Advocates say that every day a piece of legislation awaits Governor Cuomo signature, lives could be at risk. Legislation that would allow medical helicopters to carry blood and perform transfusions passed the Senate and Assembly last month but needs Cuomo’s approval to become law. The story of Binghamton resident Travis Flanagan inspired many lawmakers who worked on the bill. Flanagan was in a horrific farming accident in March that lead to both of his legs being amputated. Flanagan, who works as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, believes the blood Guthrie Air had on board saved his life. Flanagan has enlisted the assistance of his colleagues in the New York State Association of Nurse Anesthetists in raising awareness of the issue and lobbying the Governor to sign the legislation.

Meanwhile, Flanagan has been fitted for prosthetic legs with a goal of being able to stand for the birth of his third child who is due on July 15th.

Watch the Interview Here

Watch NYSANA President Yana Krmic on News12 Westchester's Power & Politics with Scott McGee. Yana explains how CRNA's stepped up to meet the challenges of the pandemic by practicing independently and to the full extent of their education, as authorized by Governor Andrew Cuomo’sexecutive order. The value of CRNAs at this critical time cannot be underestimated. NYSANA is continuing to advocate for legislation in New York state to make these emergency changes permanent.

https://westchester.news12.com/power-and-politics-full-show-for-may-9-2021

When Jeremy Carlisle, CRNA, from Springfield, Ore., to New York City, he was struck by how few people were on his flight. “Maybe there were 15 of us on a 200-seat airplane.” Carlisle, a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), was on his way to serve on the COVID-19 frontlines of care.

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After Katherine “Katy” Dean was furloughed in March and could not find a job in her field, she found herself applying for a position in New York City at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There were a lot of CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) that were in the same kind of predicament I was in,” she said. “They were part-time people who weren’t working but also kind of felt called to do something.”

The Williamsburg mother of four previously worked as a nurse anesthetist for North American Partners in Anesthesia, or NAPA, part-time at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News before she signed a month-long contract with LocumTenens to work at Mount Sinai Hospital in April.

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U.S. Army Major Timothy Yourk, DNP, CRNA, was given 24-hour notice to gather gear and equipment before his deployment with the 11 Field Hospital (1 Medical Brigade) from Fort Hood, Texas, to New York City in March.

“At the time, very little was known. I didn’t know what equipment or supplies I would be falling in on,” said Yourk who, during his 15-year tenure in the Army, has been deployed to Iraq, Kuwait, and Yemen. Upon his arrival in New York, however, it was apparent to Yourk and his team of CRNAs that they were embarking on a “completely unprecedented” mission—one that would require “flexibility and adaptability in a rapidly changing environment,” while safely and effectively caring for COVID-19 patients, he said.

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Michael Greco’s team focused on treating patients in operating rooms or outpatient surgery suites. “Our days have changed significantly,” said Greco, Ph.D., DMP, CRNA. As Assistant Vice President for the Nurse Anesthesia Practice at Northwell Hospital--New York’s largest healthcare system serving New York City, Long Island, and Westchester—all of Greco’s facilities have CRNA teams managing COVID-19 patients—in an innovative way.  

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Like other healthcare providers across the country, Laura Ardizzone, DNP, CRNA, ACNP, DCC, has not had a typical day for several weeks. As director of nurse anesthesia services overseeing more than 130 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in a cancer-only facility, her first priority is to care for cancer patients at the New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

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At President Trump’s direction, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today is issuing an unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. CMS sets and enforces essential quality and safety standards for the nation’s healthcare system, and is the nation’s largest health insurer serving more than 140 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Federal Exchanges.

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