The anesthesia workforce, especially certified registered nurse anesthetists, has been facing an uphill battle in recent months amid new restrictions on federal student loan borrowing and repayment that some say will strain education and training access within the specialty.
Rules that took effect July 1 eliminated the SAVE income-driven repayment plan and reduced Parent PLUS loan options, CBS News reported July 2. Graduate borrowing limits were narrowed too, with professional-degree programs now facing a $200,000 lifetime federal cap, and other graduate programs — including those for CRNAs — were capped at $100,000, down from a previous rule allowing loans up to the full cost of a degree.
The changes land on a pipeline with little room to absorb them — the U.S. is projected to face a shortfall of roughly 12,500 CRNAs by 2033, about 22% of the current workforce.
But some hospitals, health systems and medical school programs are stepping in to provide relief. In March, Rochester, N.Y.-based Rochester Regional Health launched a student loan-repayment program aimed at that exact gap. Through a partnership with Clasp, the health system is offering eligible certified registered nurse anesthetists up to $180,000 toward their student loans, along with up to $25,000 for surgical technologists and up to $30,000 for radiologic technologists. Students can apply while still in school, but the payout only begins once they accept a job at Rochester Regional Health after graduation. The program has already produced its first graduate: Chance Nadritch, a Rochester Regional Health nurse, had $165,000 in debt erased after finishing nurse anesthesia school, NBC affiliate WHEC reported.
Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health and Columbus-based OhioHealth are both funding loan repayment specifically for CRNAs through Clasp. Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health and UNC Health Appalachian — part of the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health system — have also signed on.
“This program is a strategic investment in the future stability of care for our community,” Charlene Wilson, Rochester Regional Health’s executive vice president and CHRO, said in March. “By helping future clinicians train and stay here, we are strengthening access to the services patients rely on, while continuing to manage our resources responsibly in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.”
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