Greetings WIANA, 

I hope you all are well.  As the school year is starting right around the corner and I am trying to wrangle school supplies.  I am amazed how fast this year has flown by! It has almost been a full year of being your WIANA President.  It has been a busy year for our volunteers! 

On the political side, We have spent the majority of the year focusing on the APRN bill (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse SB 145) which encompassed pain services, title protection and years of independent practice.  Our version was approved by the Senate and the Assembly but ultimately vetoed by Governor Evers. There was even a final push with the Senate veto-override attempt.  I want to thank you all for your continued fight and attention to this; there are rumors that APRN will try to emerge again in the next legislative session. 

WIANA will not take a step back in the hard work we have made in this state as CRNAs and an organization.  WIANA will maintain and improve the current CRNA practice landscape in this great state of Wisconsin. 

As we have already see, this is going to be an interesting political year.  Making it even more important to support our WIANA PAC and Conduit.  We have many important races going on within the state of Wisconsin and on the national level that we continue to monitor as an organization.  We need your support to support the politicians that support CRNAS! 

CLICK HERE to Donate to the WIANA PAC

CLICK HERE to Donate to the WIANA Conduit

During this past year WIANA was represented at Mid Year Assembly in Washington, DC.  I most recently was out in San Diego at AANA Annual Congress.  It was another great conference with great connections and meetings. I ran into a few Wisconsin CRNAs out that way and saw many Wisconsin healthcare systems at the AANA vendor exhibit. AANA Annual Congress will be in Nashville, TN August 9-13 2025. 

Speaking of great connections and meetings we have the WIANA Fall Business Meeting right around the corner in Wisconsin Dells at Chula Vista Sept 27 and 28, 2024.  Please come join in person or virtually to the conference.  Here is a list of some of the topics for the WIANA Fall Business Meeting. We will even have the new AANA Region 3 Director, Daniel King, speaking and in attendance.

  • Poster Presentations
  • WIANA Annual Business Meeting
    • Along with the slate of candidates you will see a proposed bylaw amendment to allow out organization more flexibility in timing of our annual business meetings (which are currently limited to our fall meeting per the bylaws).  If approved by your upcoming membership vote this would officially be adopted during the business meeting.  Please reach out to myself or any board member with any questions. 
  • Legislative Update
  • Ryan Shores, CRNA, DNP, APRN, “Anticoagulants”
  • Ryan Shores, CRNA, DNP, APRN, “Understanding and Managing Acid-Base Balance in Anesthesia”
  • Daniel King, DNP, MNA, APRN, CRNA, CPPS, CNE, “Sleeping with Mary Jane: Cannabis Use in the Perioperative Period”

The WIANA Spring Meeting will be in the Wisconsin Dells at the Wilderness Resort March 14-16th, 2025. It is a great location to bring the kids and let them swim and play while learning about current issues and topics for CRNAs. Mark your calendars!

On the education front, Edgewood College in Madison is starting a CRNA Program! Ann Madden (Program Director) is looking for an Assistant Program Director.  Please reach out to her if you have any interest in being an Assistant Program Director for Edgewood College. Ann’s email is listed here [email protected]

There is also an opportunity to participate in one of Marquette’s DNP student projects.  Here is the message and link below from the two students:

We are Evan Kutny and Adam Conley, SRNAs from Marquette University. We have been wondering how Wisconsin CRNAs are performing their RSIIs these days and ask that you take our DNP project survey below. The results will be shared and displayed for you at the fall conference at the Chula Vista Resort in the Dells! We look forward to seeing you there and sharing these exciting results! Thank you!

https://marquette.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bHKVcBLDSkBImLY

I want to thank you all for my time as President.  It has been a busy and enjoyable journey to be in this role.  I will be handing over the role to Christine Roth at the WIANA Fall Meeting. She will not miss a beat, keep WIANA strong and have a great voice for CRNAs in the state. 

Another emphasis if you or anyone you know are interested in volunteering for WIANA. We have openings in the education committee and other roles that we would love for you to join us. Please reach out to me if you would like to help and join us with WIANA. 

Sincerely, 

Jess Tomasiewicz DNAP, CRNA, APNP