Senator Nancy Barto is being honored with the 2017 State Award for Excellence by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). The AANP is the country's largest professional organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties.

Senator Barto is being recognized for her hard work on scope of practice issues for certified nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and nurse midwives. She sponsored SB 1336 (nurse anesthetists; prescribing authority; limitation), which defines prescribing authority and medication orders for CRNAs. The AANP also honored Senator Barto for her work on SB 1452 (health profession regulatory boards), a regulatory reform bill that sets up due process protections for medical boards.

The State Award for Nurse Practitioner Excellence, founded in 1991, recognizes a nurse practitioner in a state who demonstrates excellence in practice. In 1993, the State Award for Nurse Practitioner Advocate was added to recognize the efforts of individuals such as Senator Barto who have made a significant contribution toward increasing awareness and recognition of NPs.

"I am thankful for AANP's recognition and the importance these new laws represent to Advanced Practice Nurses," said Senator Barto. "Allowing CRNAs to provide anesthesia services unburdened by unnecessary and outdated laws is good for patient care throughout Arizona, and especially supports our rural hospitals. Health care professionals should be able to expect consistency and fairness from their licensing board, as well. It is an honor to help ensure Arizona's regulatory environment delivers."

Nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner advocates, along with the recipients of the prestigious 2017 State Award for Excellence, will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception held during the AANP 2017 National Conference June 20-25 in Philadelphia.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners represents the interests of more than 222,000 NPs, including approximately 72,000 individual members and 200 organizations, providing a unified networking platform and advocating for their role as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered and personalized health care.