We, the undersigned Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists of Seven Hills Anesthesia, oppose the introduction and expansion of Anesthesiologist Assistants within our practice.

We recognize that Seven Hills faces real challenges involving anesthesia recruitment, retention, coverage, and continued growth. We share the goal of maintaining reliable anesthesia coverage and providing safe, efficient, high-quality care. 

We are not asking that staffing challenges be ignored. We are asking that all reasonable solutions be meaningfully evaluated before Seven Hills makes a major and lasting change to its anesthesia workforce.

CRNAs have been an essential part of Seven Hills Anesthesia and the hospitals we serve. We provide anesthesia care across a wide range of clinical settings, take call, cover high-acuity services, respond to changing operational needs, and help make this practice function every day.

Introducing AAs would represent a significant change in how Seven Hills recruits, staffs, supervises, and utilizes anesthesia providers. A decision of this magnitude should not move forward without a transparent review of the problem it is intended to solve, the data supporting it, and the alternatives available.

CRNAs have proposed alternatives.

The Good Samaritan CRNA Task Force has already developed concrete preliminary staffing proposals intended to address current and future anesthesia coverage needs while strengthening CRNA recruitment, retention, and utilization.

These proposals include evaluating collaborative and hybrid CRNA staffing models, using anesthesiologists where they create the greatest additional clinical capacity, matching staffing to actual case demand, expanding flexible CRNA positions and scheduling options, strengthening CRNA recruitment and retention, and comparing competing staffing models using the same objective financial and operational measures.

We believe these options deserve meaningful evaluation before AA integration is treated as the necessary solution.

We are asking Seven Hills leadership to:

1. Pause further AA recruitment, hiring, rotations, or implementation decisions during the agreed review process so that the process has a meaningful opportunity to influence the outcome.
2. Provide CRNA representatives with the staffing, coverage, financial, operational, recruitment, and retention data being used to evaluate the need for a change in workforce structure.
3. Allow adequate time for CRNA representatives to evaluate that information and further develop the staffing alternatives already presented.
4. Compare the current model, CRNA collaborative and hybrid models, expanded CRNA recruitment and scheduling strategies, and the proposed AA model using the same assumptions and objective measures.
5. Meaningfully include CRNA representatives in workforce decisions that directly affect CRNA practice, recruitment, retention, scheduling, and the future structure of Seven Hills Anesthesia.
6. Provide CRNAs with a written response explaining how our concerns, proposals, and alternatives were considered before a final decision is made.

This petition is about the future staffing model of Seven Hills Anesthesia. It is not about individual providers.

We believe Seven Hills can address its staffing challenges while continuing to strengthen the experienced CRNA workforce that already provides care throughout this practice.

A strong anesthesia group should be willing to evaluate its options using objective data, listen to the clinicians who provide the care, and determine which model offers the most sustainable approach to recruitment, retention, clinical capacity, and patient care.

Before Seven Hills fundamentally changes its workforce, give CRNAs a meaningful opportunity to help solve the problem.

If you oppose the introduction of AAs into Seven Hills Anesthesia and believe the CRNA-developed alternatives deserve full and fair consideration, please sign your name and stand with your CRNA colleagues.

Our practice. Our profession. Our voice.