SENATE MEMORIAL 96

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Daniel A. Ivey-Soto

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 10, 2016 "NEW MEXICO CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE ANESTHETISTS DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists have been administering anesthesia to patients in the United States for more than one hundred fifty years; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists are advanced-practice registered nurses who administer more than thirty-eight million anesthetics to patients each year; and

     WHEREAS, more than forty-eight thousand United States nurse anesthetists and student nurse anesthetists are members of the American association of nurse anesthetists; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, certified registered nurse anesthetists provide the majority of anesthesia care in rural hospitals, ensuring patient access to obstetrical, surgical, trauma stabilization and pain management services; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists have been recognized as medicare part B providers since 1986; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists work in every setting in which anesthesia is delivered, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and physician offices; and

     WHEREAS, nurse-administered anesthesia predominates in veterans hospitals and in the United States armed forces; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetist services include pre-anesthesia evaluation, administering the anesthetic, monitoring and interpreting the patient's vital signs and managing patient care throughout surgery; and

     WHEREAS, providing acute and chronic pain management services is within the professional scope of practice of certified registered nurse anesthetists; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists have advanced degrees and, by 2025, will be required to have doctoral degrees; and

     WHEREAS, a majority of certified registered nurse anesthetists practicing in New Mexico have at least a master's degree; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists are trained and licensed to provide anesthesia services without the supervision of a physician, allowing them to meet the needs of New Mexico patients, including those in rural areas; and

     WHEREAS, numerous studies have cited the high quality of nurse anesthesia care, and results of a new study led to a recommendation that costly and duplicative supervision requirements for certified registered nurse anesthetists be eliminated; and

     WHEREAS, to ensure patient access to high-quality care, an institute of medicine report recommends that advanced-practice registered nurses should be allowed to practice to the full extent of the nurse's education and training; and

     WHEREAS, certified registered nurse anesthetists provide patient access to high-quality care and promote local control of health care delivery;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 10, 2016 be declared "New Mexico Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Day" in the senate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the New Mexico association of nurse anesthetists.

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