The Bulletin

Ricky Miller would like to come home to Virginia.

He’s been in Indiana practicing as a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant and finished his schooling to do so there because he couldn’t in Virginia. This type of medical worker is involved in placing patients under anesthesia for surgeries.

The Virginia Beach native’s passion for the work first formed when he was earning his bachelor’s degree at Radford University in Southwest Virginia because it fused his interest in physiology and chemistry.

Though he’s enjoyed his time in the Midwest, he said he misses his home state with its mountains and beaches. When his grandfather became ill and needed surgery, he longed to be closer to home and more easily able to see family. A bill now under review by Gov. Glenn Youngkin could make it possible for Miller, and other health care professionals like him, to live and work in Virginia.

When hospitals conduct surgery, two key positions other than anesthesiologist doctors can be involved: CAAs — like Miller — or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

Both workers have medical knowledge and training specific to anesthesiology; VCU Health’s program for CRNAs, for instance, touts its decade of ranking high in the U.S. World and Report. While CRNAs need doctoral degrees to practice, CAAs can practice in other states with masters degrees, but they are not able to practice in Virginia due to a lack of licensure.

Senate Bill 882 by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, would establish...

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