Health facilities: cardiac surgery.

Assembly Member Gallagher's cardiac surgery staffing legislation redefines the required composition of surgical teams performing cardiovascular procedures with extracorporeal bypass in California's general acute care hospitals. The measure replaces the current requirement of three surgeons with a new standard requiring one qualified surgeon and two additional team members who must be either physician's assistants or registered nurses meeting state regulatory qualifications.

The Department of Public Health must update its regulations by January 1, 2027, to align with these new staffing requirements. While violations of these provisions remain subject to criminal penalties under existing law, the bill specifies that local agencies will not receive state reimbursement for any costs associated with the modified requirements, despite the measure qualifying as a state-mandated local program.

The legislation maintains regulatory oversight of cardiac surgical procedures while adjusting the personnel framework for surgical teams. General acute care hospitals will need to ensure their staffing models comply with the new team composition requirements once the updated regulations take effect. The measure preserves the existing qualifications standards for all team members through references to current regulatory requirements for surgeons, physician's assistants, and registered nurses participating in these procedures.