Bill Text: CA ACR123 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 123

Bill Title: Anesthesiologist Week.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 61-16)

Status: (Passed) 2024-03-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 18, Statutes of 2024. [ACR123 Detail]

Download: California-2023-ACR123-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 123

CHAPTER 18

Relative to Anesthesiologist Week.

[ Filed with Secretary of State March 04, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 123, McCarty. Anesthesiologist Week.

This measure would designate the week of January 28, 2024, to February 3, 2024, inclusive, as Anesthesiologist Week.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists are guardians of patient safety in health care: in the operating room, in the delivery room, in the intensive care unit, in pain management clinics, and on the front lines battling the opioid epidemic; and

WHEREAS, Years of education and training prepare anesthesiologists to navigate life-and-death moments, transitioning from the operating room to the emergency room and acting as perioperative medicine experts for the most sick of patients; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists were made for this moment, playing a critical role in keeping patients safe in this state and community, whether caring for COVID-19 patients, managing a crisis during surgery or labor and delivery, or providing pain management for complex pain syndromes; and

WHEREAS, Annually in the United States, more than 100 million operations and procedures are performed with anesthesia, and anesthesiologists play a critical role in a patient’s well-being before, during, and after surgical procedures and make patient safety their top priority; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists are medical doctors that have completed 4 years of medical school, the highest levels of training during anesthesiology residency, and between 12,000 and 16,000 hours of training prior to practicing independently; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists have been leaders in patient safety, as anesthesiology is cited as the only medical specialty to have significantly improved patient safety; and

WHEREAS, An anesthesiologist’s duties include evaluating a patient’s current health status prior to receiving anesthesia to ensure the best outcome, administering anesthesia, monitoring the patient during surgery, and assessing the patient after the procedure is completed; and

WHEREAS, This spectrum of patient care constitutes the perioperative surgical home, which the American Society of Anesthesiologists has identified as an innovative model in patient care where the anesthesiologist directs the anesthesia care team to provide support to the patient throughout all aspects of surgical care and procedures; and

WHEREAS, There is up to a 20-percent reduction in adverse events when anesthesiologists lead the anesthesia care team; and

WHEREAS, The American Medical Association completed a public opinion survey that concluded that 70 percent of patients want a physician to administer and monitor anesthesia levels; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesia is safer than ever before, yet there remains potential for complications and side effects during procedures, and anesthesiologists have the advanced training and expertise to help minimize these risks, monitor for any problems, and make life-saving decisions; and

WHEREAS, During surgeries or procedures, when seconds count, anesthesiologists have the highest degree of training to respond to emergencies and ensure the best patient outcomes; and

WHEREAS, The California Society of Anesthesiologists is a physician organization with over 3,000 members dedicated to promoting the highest standards of the profession of anesthesiology, fostering excellence through continuing medical education, and serving as an advocate for anesthesiologists and their patients; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the week of January 28, 2024, to February 3, 2024, inclusive, as Anesthesiologist Week; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.