Page | 1 Spring/Summer2015 MeANA Who We Are Jonathan and Elizabeth Marshall, CRNAs (Nurse
Anesthesia of Maine) Jonathan and I met in 2008 in Charleston, SC. We had both
started our first semester of classes in the Anesthesia for
Nurses Program at the Medical University of South Carolina.
One of our first dates was a Halloween party where I dressed
up as the retro cartoon Rainbow Brite, and he captured the
spirit of John Boy Walton in his faded overalls and a mole
painted on his face, upon my numerous requests! We were a
match made in TV land heaven! :) After passing our boards on the same day in January 2011, we
packed up our wedding gifts and my grandmother’s old recliner
and moved to what seemed like a foreign country to us
Southerners...New York! We commuted to work together that
entire first year as CRNAs in our only car, (a sweet, old Camry)
where we worked with a fabulous group of professionals. After a year of exploring all that NYC had to offer, we packed it
all up again and headed to St. Simons Island, Georgia to be
closer to our families and start our “dream” jobs!
Providentially, things did not work out as planned, and we
began to search for a new and more permanent home. While at the AANA national meeting in Boston a few years back,
we found a posting on Gaswork for “an all CRNA group in
Bangor, Maine” and decided to investigate further. After a
Page | 2 wonderful interview and accidentally dousing our future
colleagues with lobstah juice at dinner, we made the 2000+
mile journey from Georgia to Maine! This is our third year in
the Pine Tree State, and we are so thankful to be blessed with
such a great group of CRNA colleagues both local and
statewide. This past year was a particularly good year for the
Marshall family as we welcomed our precious baby girl into the
world. Annie Elizabeth Marshall (almost 10 mo’s) has brought
more joy into our lives than we could have ever imagined. We
are incredibly thankful to our friends and co-workers for their
wisdom and support on this “new adventure”called parenthood! MeANA Video The Maine Association of Nurse Anesthetists created a video with the help of Sutherland
Weston Marketing Communications and Nurse Anesthesia of Maine. For their efforts,
Nurse Anesthesia of Maine received an appreciation award for their contributions to the
Page | 3 practice of Nurse Anesthesia. The video is posted publicly on YouTube and can be found
by searching - Maine Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Proud to Serve. The video has
been used in emails to members of the Maine Senate and House of Representatives to
help them learn who we are and what we do. You can visit the MeANA Facebook page or
go to youtube to watch the video and like it. Please share it with your family and
Friends. CRNA Week – January 25 th – 31 st ,
2015 The new AANA Public Relations campaign was highlighted throughout this week of
celebration. Free items, such as pens, buttons and magnets could be ordered from the
AANA. CRNA members of Maine had much to celebrate! Some took pictures of their
groups and posted them to their Facebook pages. The picture taken by MeANA
president, Kristie Hoch of Nurse Anesthesia of Maine was posted to the National AANA
Page | 4 Facebook page. Some were treated to homemade goodies by their departments, while
others were given gifts from their groups. Governor LePage also signed a proclamation
in his cabinet room declaring the week Nurse Anesthesia week in the state of Maine. Group Picture: Back Row: Rob Peck, SRNA, Abe Crockett, SRNA, Jonathan Marshall CRNA, Erin Foley,
CRNA, James Osgood, CRNA. Front Row: Viktoriya Maslova, SRNA, Lisa Neider, SRNA, Christine Poulin,
SRNA, Governor LePage, Kristie Hoch, CRNA, Elsa Rodriguez, SRNA, Kaitlin Sullivan, SRNA, Hollie
Aresnault, CRNA and Melissa Limmer, SRNA Page | 5 APRN Legislative Day – Augusta – February 25 , 2015 th
Left to right/back row – Adam Russell, Peter Currie, Rob Peck, LaDonna Brown, and Melissa Limmer. Left to right front row – Christine Poulin, Kasey Lareau, Jillian Fiflied, Kaitlin Sullivan and Andrea Cyr. It was a snowy drive to Augusta for APRN day. It will forever be marked in history as the day of
a terrible multi-car pile up in the northbound lane of I-95 around 7:30 am that made the
Page | 6 national news broadcasts. We all made it to the Hall of Flags safely and were part of the group
of APRNs on hand for the day. We had a great day talking with representatives as they stopped
by our tables. A light breakfast and lunch was served to people as they came through and met
with us. We had several handouts and an external hard drive in the shape of a key which holds
our MeANA video, information on the APRN consensus model and all of the articles showing
CRNA’s are the “key” to quality, safe, cost effective anesthesia care. The map of Maine
highlighting the current locations in which CRNAs are the only anesthesia providers was very
popular with the legislators. We were able to talk with Senator Andre Cushing, sponsor of our
APRN consensus model legislation, Senator Amy Volk, Representative Anne Marie Mastrianno,
Senator Anne Haskell, Senator John Patrick, Representative Paul Chace and Representative
Ryan Fecteau, just to name a few. Christine Poulin, SRNA created the patient safety poster the
students from UNE are displaying in the photo above. We also had various monitors to show
some of the parameters we watch during surgery and explained their importance to patient
safety. The students were joined by President Kristie Hoch, President-elect Tom Nolan and Past
President Stacey Whittington. MeANA Winter Meeting – Freeport, ME Page | 7 The Winter MeANA Educational meeting was a tremendous success thanks to the efforts of the education committee, wellness committee and the team who put together the student silent auction. Students were active in the meeting by helping set up, announce speakers and poster presentations. The pictures below simply do not do the meeting justice as the lectures were terrific! The auction was amazing and fun was had by all involved! Shout out of thanks to our members who participated in the interviews with the consultants from the AANA organizational review. Your voice counts!! NEANA Spring Meeting – Burlington, MA Page | 8 Attending: Hollie Arsenault, CRNA, Maribeth Massie, CRNA, Tom Albee, CRNA, Steven Bender, CRNA, Kim Martin, CRNA, Vance Wormwood, CRNA, Stacey Whittington, CRNA, Kristie Hoch, CRNA and Larry Hallett, CRNA. A large group of CRNAs from Maine attended the New England Assembly spring meeting
in Burlington, Massachusetts. The meeting is always popular because of the quality of
speakers and continuing education credits. This year was no exception! There were
also fun events in the evening for members to attend. The Massachusetts Association
celebrated their anniversary with a gathering on Saturday evening that was well
attended by many of their past presidents and members. The University of New England
hosted a reception for their alumni and students. AANA Mid-Year Assembly –
Washington DC Maine had its largest group of students and CRNAs in attendance this year at the MidYear Assembly in our nation’s beautiful capitol! The assembly was full of speakers
preparing us to be excellent advocates for our profession. We made new friends and
caught up with old ones. The PAC event was not to be missed and the first ever Capitol
Hill Rally was a great way to kick off the visits with our legislators. So many pictures we
could not wait to share! (See below) Page | 9 Making some new friends from Texas and Florida and meeting up with a great friend from Louisiana. First ever Capitol Hill Rally with all of the members prior to their Hill visits!
Students taking a moment to catch a picture with AANA lobbyist Frank Purcell, President Hoch and
President-elect Tom Nolan Page | 10 Page | 11 MeANA BOD Retreat – Lookout Point,
NorthPort The AANA organization review consultants, BOD and committee chairs and their spouses. Point Lookout was the site chosen for our first ever weekend Board of Directors
Retreat! The facilities allowed the board to enjoy some time together between meetings.
Friday night the consultants with the AANA organizational review briefed the board on
the environmental scans and interviews completed earlier in the year. Saturday was
spent reviewing the MeANA strategic plan with the consultants as well as discussing
ideas found during the review. Sunday was the MeANA Board of Directors meeting.
Everyone who attended felt this was a successful meeting with a lot of business being
accomplished. The retreat made it easier for us to be completely focused on the
Page | 12 direction of the association, while also allowing us time to focus on goals for the
months ahead. There was a unanimous vote to continue with the retreat every year! Goodie bags for the team from President Hoch BOD member Shawn Metayer making a list President-­‐elect Nolan reviewing his AANA organizational notebook The AANA organizational review helped the BOD and committee chairs put a lot of
things in perspective. They gave us great templates to help us be efficient with the
limited volunteer time we have. They stated, “You are one of the few state organizations
who work well together. You can tell you like each other.” We had expected them to
recommend a management company, but they did not. They were concerned the team
could use help on an occasional basis so as not to burn out the board and committee
members. The top three things they suggested were; 1) Get an outside financial audit
every 3 years or if there is a change in treasurer 2) Streamline the bylaws by creating
an operational procedure manual 3) Update the website to engage members.
They also gave us suggestions on how to improve the efficiency of the BOD meetings,
which we implemented on Sunday morning. It helped us use our time efficiently and we
were able to accomplish a lot of things we needed to in a shorter amount of time. Chris
Jackson also came to speak to us about the Senate vote the next day. We then identified
Page | 13 a key contact in each Senators district and had them make a phone call or send an
email regarding LD970. The following are some pictures of the weekend. Spouses had
fun while we were in meetings and then joined us for dinner that evening.
Page | 14 Lobbyist Report/Chris Jackson
LD 970 – An Act Regarding Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Requirements was presented
by Senator CUSHING of Penobscot. The following is a list of cosponsors. If you have not sent a
letter or email thanking them, please do. We will need their support in the future. Cosponsored
by Representative GIDEON of Freeport and Senators: DILL of Penobscot, DUTREMBLE of
York, HASKELL of Cumberland,WILLETTE of Aroostook, Representatives: FECTEAU of
Biddeford, GINZLER of Bridgton,HICKMAN of Winthrop, LOCKMAN of Amherst. LD 970 (SP 342) "An Act Regarding Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Requirements" Sponsored by Senator Andre Cushing Status
Summary Reference Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic
Committee Development Last House 6/15/2015 - Reports READ.
Action On motion of Representative HERBIG of Belfast, the
Majority Ought Not to Pass Report was ACCEPTED.
In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.
Placed in the Legislative Files. (DEAD) Last Senate 6/15/2015 - Taken from the table by the President
Action ProTem
Subsequently, PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS
AMENDED BY Committee Amendment "A" (S-176) AS
AMENDED BY Senate Amendment "A" (S-211) thereto
FAILED
Roll Call Ordered
The Maine Senate voted 17-18 against ‘passage to be engrossed’ on LD 970, the APRN bill. The
House accepted the Ought Not to Pass report with no debate on recommendation of
Representative Herbig of Belfast. As you recall, the minority report of the bill was initially
approved by the Senate in a 18-17 vote. Then Senator Cushing further amended the bill on the
floor of the Senate, which garnered a 19-16 vote. Senator Justin Alfond asked that the bill be
held overnight and the next day Senator Volk asked that the Senate reconsider its actions.
Senator Cushing asked for a roll call on the reconsideration vote, which we lost 12-19. The bill
then got tabled in the Senate, until the vote. Engrossment is simply the process of adopting all of
Senator Cushing’s amendments to the bill before sending the new version of the legislation to the
House and Senate. The final roll call vote, which is the one that really matters, is below: Page | 15 Date: June 15, 2015 Motion: PASS TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMEND Number of Yeas Required: 18 (simple majority) Outcome: FAILS Yeas (Y): 17 Nays (N): 18 Absent (X): 0 Excused (E): 0 Member Party Vote ALFOND of Cumberland D N BAKER of Sagadahoc R N BRAKEY of Androscoggin R Y BREEN of Cumberland D N BURNS of Washington R N COLLINS of York R N CUSHING of Penobscot R Y CYRWAY of Kennebec R Y DAVIS of Piscataquis R N DIAMOND of Cumberland D N DILL of Penobscot D N DUTREMBLE of York D Y EDGECOMB of Aroostook R Y Page | 16 GERZOFSKY of Cumberland D N GRATWICK of Penobscot D N HAMPER of Oxford R Y HASKELL of Cumberland D N HILL of York D N JOHNSON of Lincoln D Y KATZ of Kennebec R N LANGLEY of Hancock R N LIBBY of Androscoggin D N MASON of Androscoggin R Y McCORMICK of Kennebec R N MILLETT of Cumberland D Y MIRAMANT of Knox D Y PATRICK of Oxford D Y ROSEN of Hancock R N SAVIELLO of Franklin R Y THIBODEAU of Waldo R Y VALENTINO of York D Y VOLK of Cumberland R N WHITTEMORE of Somerset R Y WILLETTE of Aroostook R Y WOODSOME of York R Y Page | 17 That was the fourth roll call on this bill in the Senate alone. There were several Senators who
stood with us on all of them:Senator Cushing, Senator Dutremble, Senator Hamper, Senator
Mike Willette, Senator Peter Edgecomb, and probably a couple of others. Senator John Patrick
was also very supportive. Everybody that voted Y yesterday deserves thanks. It is hard to
overstate the amount of pressure the 35 members of the Senate were under from the physician
anesthesiology community and lobby. The fight definitely had a David vs. Goliath feel to it. It is
tough to come so close in the Senate, especially after such a devastating committee
recommendation (12-1, ought not to pass), but we took some steps forward and did not give up. Andre Cushing deserves a lot of credit for digging in on our behalf. We couldn’t have asked
more of our bill sponsor, especially once the bill made it to the floor of the Senate. Please thank
him for his efforts. Maine Hospital Association Allied Health Award A beautiful afternoon at the Samoset resort in Rockland set the tone for the Maine Hospital Association awards luncheon. The allied health award is traditionally given to a CRNA who has been voted on by the MeANA board of directors. This year the BOD voted to present the award to Myra Broadway, RN, JD, MS for her advocacy of all advanced practice nursing and her commitment to advancement of nursing care and quality during her tenure as the director of state board of nursing. Myra was instrumental in the submission of the ARPN consensus model as an agency bill and again this year as a legislative bill. She was always willing to assist with questions and bill rewrites. She took a personal day to be able to testify in front of the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic development committee when Governor LePage told her she could not testify as the Director of the Maine State Board of Nursing. Wow!! For her commitment to the association and advancement of nursing practice, we awarded her with the allied health professional award. Left to right: Dr. Cheryl Nimmo CRNA, Stacey Whittington, CRNA, Kristie Hoch, CRNA, Myra Broadway, Director
Maine State Board of Nursing, Tom Nolan, CRNA, Paul Schneider, CRNA
Page | 18 NEANA Fall Assembly – Portland, ME The NEANA Fall meeting will be hosted by Maine this year at the Portland Sable Oaks. It is being held over Columbus Day weekend – October 10th & 11th, 2015. The PR committee is planning a Casino night event that you will not want to miss! Think food, dancing, music, casino games and more! AANA President-­‐ elect, Juan Quintana will be speaking on Compliance and Regulations as well as delivering an AANA update. Page | 19 Thanks for taking the time to read your latest edition of the
Snooze News. As always, if you are wondering when to get
involved with MeANA, NOW is the time! Please contact
kristie.hoch@gmail.com or ermarshallcrna@me.com with
ideas, suggestions and/or content for the spring edition of the
Snooze News.
Upcoming articles:
The AANA Annual Congress in Salt Lake City
The AANA Fall Leadership Academy
NEANA Fall meeting hosted by Maine