A new year is upon us. As I step into the role of President for the Ohio Association of Advanced Practices Nurses, I’m honored and humbled for the opportunity to partner with our Board of Directors and Ohio APRNs to move the needle on increasing healthcare access and ensure continued quality outcomes for the Ohioans that entrust their care to us. As you know, APRNs are an essential part of the patient care team. Because you serve such an important role, I am excited to share with you that OAAPN has big things planned to support you in 2024.
As you may have heard, Senator Kristina Roegner of Senate District 27, introduced SB 196 last week. If enacted, this important piece of legislation can decrease the cost of care and administrative red tape as well as help prevent care delays by allowing APRNs to complete paperwork associated with the in-scope care they provide for their patients every day. To date, 15 other states have “global” signature authority laws, and it is OAAPN’s hope that Ohioans will reap the benefits once we become state number 16.
While we recognize changes in legislation to reflect the importance the APRN role plays in overall care delivery, we also know that for our legislation to move forward, we must build relationships with other individuals and organizations with aligned missions. To that end, I am truly proud of the work OAAPN Government Relations Director, Summer Davis and President-Elect, Eric Snyder have done over the last several years to build a grassroots coalition of support with local and national organizations such as AARP, Ohio Council for Home Care and Hospice, Ohio Health Care Association, The Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Service Providers among many others.
This effort does not stop at coalition building. This year OAAPN is committed to demonstrating what all APRNs do to support the needs of our community’s most vulnerable by continuing their focus on our philanthropy program, led by OAAPN Secretary, Kristina Langley and our OAAPN Region Co-Directors. If your organization would benefit from OAAPN support, please reach out at info@oaapn.org.
Perhaps most importantly, we are working on innovative ways to ensure all this work is meaningful to Ohio APRNs. Understandably, it may be challenging to synthesize, disseminate, and operationalize these changes within your organizations, practices, and with your patients and colleagues. As a result, we have worked on the first of what we hope to be many white papers, meant to be a resource for our members as they advocate on behalf of their role.
Bethany Parsell, OAAPN Reimbursement Director, in concert with the OAAPN legal team, developed the OAAPN white paper on APRN reimbursement and had the opportunity to discuss it with the Ohio Department of Medicaid in late 2023. In 2024, we will work to develop additional resources like this one and utilize the “Ask OAAPN” feature to drive the content our members find most relevant.
In closing, my hope is that each of you has a safe and restful holiday season in preparation for all the amazing things coming in 2024. If you are interested in additional details about SB 196 as well as other upcoming legislation and member benefits, please log in to www.oaapn.org or become a member today!
Dr. Amanda Rumpke CNP-APRN
President OAAPN