Unity nurse anesthetist begins new legislative advocacy role with state association

Unity resident Jessica Poole is among more than 3,700 nationally board-certified registered nurse anesthetists in the state represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA).

If she’s successful in her new role of government relations director for PANA, Pennsylvania will no longer be one of two states that don’t formally recognize the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) professional title.

Poole, who served on PANA’s state governance relations committee and as the group’s vice president, has stepped down from the latter position to concentrate her efforts on advancing policies that are important to the group — including proposed state legislation that would give certified registered nurse anesthetists recognition in Pennsylvania.

Inaugurating the newly created PANA post as of Feb. 1, Poole also will be a primary point of contact for lawmakers and other health-care trade associations and organizations, helping to inform stakeholders about issues related to CRNA practice in Pennsylvania.

According to Poole, Pennsylvania and New York are the only states that fail to recognize the CRNA designation as distinct from other registered nurses. In Pennsylvania, there is no such formal definition under the state’s Professional Nursing Law, she said, which means nurses must travel to another state to obtain the CRNA title if they want to serve in that capacity in the U.S. military.

Also, she said, “It inhibits our humanitarian CRNAs if they want to travel outside Pennsylvania to render assistance in an emergency situation.”

CRNAs provide anesthesia care in hospital operating and delivery rooms; ambulatory surgical centers; pain management centers; and the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons. According to Poole, they are the main providers of anesthesia in rural and medically under-served communities and have provided the same service to U.S. military personnel on the front lines of combat since World War I.

Legislation to formally recognize CRNAs in Pennsylvania passed the state Senate and is now before the House professional licensure committee. She’s hopeful it will receive full approval by the end of the year.

In response to the national epidemic of opioid addiction, Poole said, CRNAs are involved in a shift toward anesthesia that uses opioids sparingly, if at all.

“Ten years ago, everyone was getting narcotics,” she said. “We’ve moved away from that and patients are doing really well.”

A flexible schedule will allow Poole to continue working in private practice with BPW Medical Associates, where she is the chief CRNA at Spartan Surgical Center in Monongahela.

Poole obtained her bachelor’s degree in nursing from California University of Pennsylvania and worked in emergency and intensive care before entering the Excela Health School of Anesthesia, an affiliate of Saint Vincent College in Unity. After completing that program, she obtained her master’s degree in health science and was nationally board-certified. In 2017, she was awarded a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice from La Roche College.

Poole also has held committee posts with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.