2000
The first official observance of National Nurse Anesthetists Week was in January.
The HCFA announced it would finalize the rule to defer to the states on physician supervision of CRNAs for Medicare cases.
Designed to educate the public on anesthesia care and other related topics, www.AnesthesiaPatientSafety.com was launched. (NB Nov 2000)
The Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with the 6th World Congress for Nurse Anesthetists in Chicago, Ill.
The Foundation received its first stock donation. (NB Feb 2000)
The AANA supported the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation for mandatory reporting of medical errors. (NB June 2000)
Members voted to establish an Organizational Health Allocation and Strategic Reserve Fund to assist the state associations. (NB Oct 2000)
The first AANA Staff Directory was published in the NewsBulletin; 91 staff members were listed. (NB Sept 2000)
The web editor position was created to update, maintain, and create content for the AANA’s growing website. (NB Oct 2000)
The Association began using E-alerts to notify the membership about urgent matters. (NB Oct 2000)
The Fact Sheet on Reimbursement for CRNAs and Anesthesiologists was published. (NB Oct 2000 insert)
The Foundation’s Discoveries of Distinction column debuted as a regular feature in the NewsBulletin. (NB Oct 2000)
The director of Membership position was expanded to director of Membership and State Associations. (NB masthead)
The director of Continuing Education position was expanded to director of Continuing Education, Certification and Recertification. (NB masthead)
Position Statement 1.10 Workplace Violence and Disruptive Behavior was adopted.
The Foundation’s Researcher of the Year and Outstanding Student Researcher awards were first presented. (Foundation Historical Perspectives)
Brigadier General William Bester, CRNA, became the 21st Chief of the Army Nurse Corps and the second CRNA to serve in the position.
Army Reserve Officer Donna Barbisch, CRNA, was selected as a major general and became the first two-star CRNA.
2001
The supervision rule was published in the Federal Register in the last days of the Clinton Administration and delayed by the new Bush Administration. A new rule was published in November that kept in place the Medicare requirement of physician supervision of CRNAs while establishing a process by which state governors could write to Medicare to opt out of the requirement.
Iowa became the first state to opt out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists.
The Ira P. Gunn Award for Outstanding Professional Advocacy was first presented to Ira Gunn, CRNA, MLN, FAAN.
John Garde, CRNA, MS, FAAN, retired as executive director after 17 years.
Jeffery Beutler, CRNA, MS, was appointed the new executive director.
To commemorate National Nurse Anesthetists Week, a group of CRNAs called CPR (CRNAs for PR) commissioned a work of “crop art” by environmental artist Stan Herd. The three-acre work located near the Topeka, Kan., airport depicted a CRNA with a patient. (J Apr 2001)
Guidelines for State Public Relations were published. (NB Dec 2000)
The redesigned AANA Journal included a cover photo. (J Feb 2001)
The first AANA Journal Course Examination was made available on the website. (NB Mar 2001)
The CRNA Competency Assessment Packet was developed. (NB April 2001 insert)
The Champions of Industry program on nurse anesthetists aired on Fox Cable News. (NB May 2001)
The C-TACS was upgraded to voice-response units technology which allowed members to request transcripts by email or wireless device, verify membership information and certification/recertification status, and check upcoming meeting and event information. (NB May 2001)
The Legal Briefs column was made available online. (NB May 2001)
The CRNA vacancy issue and overall nursing shortage began receiving substantial press coverage; measures to alleviate the nursing shortage were introduced in Congress.
The Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists began to store student transcripts on compact disk. (NB Sept 2001)
The Faith in Mankind campaign began days after the September 11 terrorist attacks and raised over $280,000 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. (NB Oct 2001, Dec 2001)
The AANA and the U.S. Army jointly produced the videotape U.S.Army Nurse Corps and the AANA, 1901-2001:Celebrating 100 Years, which premiered during the Opening Ceremonies at the Annual Meeting. (NB Oct 2001)
Nurses For a Healthier Tomorrow, a coalition of 32 nursing and healthcare organizations including the AANA, launched a national advertising and recruitment campaign—“Nursing. It’s real. It’s Life”—to help ease the nursing shortage. (NB Nov 2001) A CRNA is one of the seven nurses featured in the campaign.
The Foundation State Advocate program began. (NB Mar 2002)
2002
Five more states opted out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists: Nebraska, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico.
The AANA published A Professional Study and Resource Guide for the CRNA, a substantial revision to and expansion of the popular 1994 book Professional Aspects of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. (NB Apr 2002)
The AANA published Silenced Screams on awareness during anesthesia. (NB Nov 2002)
The Federal Political Director of the Year Award was first presented to Daniel Vigness, CRNA, MS.
The AANA Journal was made available online with issues back to October 1999. (NB Nov 2002)
Prospect Travel/AANA Travel Services curtailed operations and travel services due to economic conditions and changes in the travel industry; the AANA subsidiary was later dissolved by the Board of Directors. (NB Feb 2002, NB Nov 2002 suppl)
The Sponsor-A-Student program was extended to the Mid-Year Assembly. (NB Feb 2002)
The AANA received the 2002 Health Policy and Legislation Award from the New York University Division of Nursing for its work on the supervision issue. (NB Mar 2002)
The Latex Allergy Awareness public education campaign was launched. (NB May 2002)
The AANA sponsored a survey on the reuse of needles and syringes. (NB Dec 2002)
Membership passed 30,000. (NB Nov 2002 suppl)
The AANA joined forces with 60 other nursing organizations in Call to the Profession: Nursing’s Agenda for Change, a cooperative effort to address the nursing shortage. (NB Nov 2002 suppl)
2003
Kansas, North Dakota, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon opted out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists.
The study, "Surgical Mortality and Type of Anesthesia Provider," showed that the surgical death rate is not linked to type of provider.
 The United States and Britain went to war with Iraq; on April 1, Steve Hendrix, CRNA, LTC, Special OPS, was the lone anesthesia provider to participate in the rescue mission of U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch from Saddam Hussein Hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq.
“Sweet Dreams at the Hospital,” a coloring book (NB Jan 2003), and “Herbal Products and Your Anesthetic,” a brochure, were published. (NB Mar 2003)
The Student Mentoring Program was expanded to the Mid-Year Assembly. (NB Mar 2003)
The Public Relations Recognition Award expanded to three categories: best overall effort, best effort by a small state association, and best promotional effort for National Nurse Anesthetists Week. (NB Apr 2003)
The Speaker Databank and CRNA Careers Online were launched on the website. (NB May 2003)
A new web feature, “Deployed CRNAs in Service of Our Country,” debuted. (NB July-Aug 2003)
Members voted to develop a proposal for electronic voting. (NB Oct 2003)
 The American Academy of Nursing honored Ira Gunn as a Living Legend. (NB Nov 2003)
The AANA endorsed the JCAHO’s Universal Protocol to Prevent Wrong Site Surgery. (NB Nov 2003)
The Board of Directors adopted AANA’s new mission, vision, core values, and motto. Mission: Advancing patient safety and excellence in anesthesia; Vision: Recognized leaders in anesthesia care; Core values: Integrity, Professionalism, Advocacy, Quality; Motto: Supporting Our Members, Protecting Our Patients. (NB Feb 2004)
2004
The Minnesota Association of Nurse Anesthetists (MANA) successfully resolved the legal actions that had been pending against hospitals and anesthesiologists in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. The legal action, brought by MANA in 1994 on behalf of the federal government, alleged wrongful termination of nurses, antitrust violations, and Medicare fraud. The lawsuit was instrumental in bringing about substantial regulatory changes regarding reimbursement of CRNAs and anesthesia practitioners generally. (NB June 2004)
Montana opted out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists.
The AANA and the ASA entered into a mediation process, facilitated by a company called ThoughtBridge, to help improve communication between the organizations. (NB Feb 2004)
The AANA and the ASA issued a Joint Statement Regarding Propofol Administration. (NB June 2004)
Former AANA President Sandra Maree Ouellette, CRNA, MEd, FAAN, was elected president of the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.
 COL Gale Pollock, CRNA, was promoted to Major General and became the 22nd Chief of the Army Nurse Corps and the third CRNA to serve in the position.
The AANA Wellness Initiative was launched in honor of AANA Past President Jan Stewart. (NB May 2004)
The online voting option was made available for the first time and nearly 30 percent of the total votes were cast online. (NB Aug 2004)
The NewsBulletin published responses to the question “Why should America’s Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists vote for you?” from presidential nominees Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and President George W. Bush. (NB Oct 2004)
A Florida appellate court struck down a Florida Board of Medicine rule for Level III office surgery requiring anesthesiologist supervision of CRNAs. The Florida appellate court rulings concerned the legal challenge brought by Florida CRNA Victor Ortiz. The anesthesia rule, which was implemented in 2002, had forced Ortiz and many other CRNAs who had previously provided anesthesia in physicians’ offices out of office practice.
The Office-Based Anesthesia brochure was published. (NB Nov 2004)
The AANA and ASA teamed with the JCAHO on a sentinel event alert on patient awareness under anesthesia. (NB Nov 2004)
2005
The AANA published the book, The Chemistry of Drugs for Nurse Anesthetists.
South Dakota and Wisconsin opt out of the federal physician supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists.
AANA staff members got a first-hand look at CRNAs in action during tours of the operating rooms and simulator lab at Rush University College of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program. CRNAs Margaret Faut-Callahan (program director), Michael Kremer, and Judith Wiley coordinated the events and hosted the staff members.
The AANA joined the Council on Surgery and Perioperative Safety. (NB Mar 2005)
The Wellness Program’s Blue Ribbon Panel of Experts was created. (NB April 2005)
Advisory Opinion 5.1, Patient Safety: Fatigue, Stress and Work Schedule Effects, was adopted.
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