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Committee hears testimony supporting House Bill 52 to modernize CRNA scope
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Summary
Witnesses from nursing, hospital and anesthesia leadership told the House Health Committee substitute HB 52 consolidates and modernizes CRNA scope language in the Ohio Revised Code, preserves physician collaboration, and aims to reduce regulatory fragmentation that creates operational inefficiencies, especially in rural hospitals.
The Ohio House Health Committee held a second hearing on substitute House Bill 52, which proponents said would consolidate and modernize statutory language governing certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) without expanding their scope of practice.
Angela Milosz, a certified registered nurse anesthetist and educational program director, told the committee that CRNA education is rigorous, typically requiring a bachelor’s degree, RN licensure, at least one year of critical‑care nursing experience (commonly three or more years in applicants), and an intensive doctoral‑level curriculum with national certification. Milosz said the substitute modernizes outdated language in the Ohio Revised Code, affirms the CRNA’s collaborative role with physicians, podiatrists and qualified dentists, and aligns state wording with national standards.
Dr. Russ Churchwell, a physician anesthesiologist and system director for anesthesia at Kettering Health, said the state statute is fragmented across multiple code sections and that facilities have relied on legal interpretations to guide practice. Dr. Churchwell described CRNAs as essential, especially in rural hospitals where they are often the primary anesthesia providers, and said the bill consolidates scope language in a single revised code section while requiring collaboration with physicians and preserving physician clinical leadership.
Sonya Selhorst, president of Mercy Health Defiance for Bon Secours Mercy Health, said CRNAs are the sole credentialed anesthesia providers in her facility and at roughly 150 other Ohio sites. Selhorst described operational inefficiencies caused by the current statutory structure — for example, differences in whether a CRNA can order a chest X‑ray depending on which code section applies — and said the substitute would allow consistent local credentialing and privileging without changing hospital practices.
Committee members asked about rural models, emergency back‑up, whether the substitute expands scope of practice, and how the bill would affect legal costs for hospitals. Witnesses said CRNAs provide full preoperative to postoperative care in many settings, that collaboration with surgeons and on‑call anesthesiologists is part of existing practice, and that the substitute is intended to reduce legal uncertainty that forces facilities to seek counsel when privileging CRNAs.
Chair Schmidt closed the second hearing on HB 52 and directed members to written testimony on their iPads.
