Rep Alan Powell Named 2022 APRN Legislative Champion

State Representative Alan Powell was once again honored over the weekend by the Georgia Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.

Powell was named their 2022 APRN Legislative Champion at their annual United for Healthcare Gala Saturday.

CAPRN Co-director Michelle Nelson noted Powell’s tireless and relentless fight on behalf of Georgia’s APRNs to sponsor critical legislation to remove the barriers to APRN’s scope of practice and expand healthcare services for all Georgians.

This is not the first time Powell has received the Legislative Champion Award.

He also receive the award in October 2020 for his efforts in getting Senate Bill 321 passed, which removed certain restrictions imposed on Georgia’s nurse practitioners.

Prior to that, Georgia was the only state in the country with laws that restricted nurse practitioners from ordering routine radiographic imaging tests, such as CT Scans and MRIs, when working with their collaborating physician.

At the time, Nelson called Powell a hero for getting legislation passed that Georgia nurses had been fighting for years.

“We are so grateful to you, Representative Powell, for the way that you have stood up for us. The way you stood up for nurses. The way you fought for us, even when it wasn’t easy; even when you had to go up against some of your own closest colleagues. We are grateful that you understand that nurses are the backbone of healthcare,” Nelson said.

In receiving that award, Powell said he has the greatest respect for the nursing profession, and credited the nurses in Georgia with being on the front lines of patient care.

“In this day and time, this new normal that we’re living in, quite frankly there’s not enough doctors. There are not enough specialists. So, somebody’s got to be the ones that are out there providing the service in numbers and that’s you, ladies and gentlemen. And I thank you all for that. So, any of the honors you bestowed on me today pales in comparison to what you all do on a daily basis in the real world,” he said.

The Georgia Coalition of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses represents approximately 20,000 nurse practitioners in Georgia.