CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

CHAPTER 11

Statutes of 2026

Introduced by Assembly Member Ahrens

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rivas, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, and Zbur)

January 15, 2026

Relative to Anesthesiologists Week.

Fiscal committee: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

This measure would designate the week of January 25, 2026, to January 31, 2026, inclusive, as Anesthesiologists Week.

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists have advanced patient care throughout the history of modern medicine and have been instrumental in pivotal milestones in medical history. Through leadership, innovation, and scientific rigor, anesthesiologists have shaped what is possible in surgical care, pain management, critical care, and patient safety; and

WHEREAS, The development, refinement, and safe clinical application of anesthesia, including ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide, and later modern agents, including halothane, sevoflurane, propofol, and remifentanil, were advanced through the leadership and expertise of anesthesiologists, making painless surgery possible and transforming medicine; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists pioneered modern airway management and continue to lead the advancement of endotracheal intubation techniques and devices that protect patients’ breathing and life-sustaining functions during surgery and critical illness; and

WHEREAS, The Apgar Score, a standardized assessment used worldwide to evaluate the health of every newborn at birth, was created by anesthesiologist Dr. Virginia Apgar and significantly transformed obstetric and neonatal care; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists played a leading role in advancing mechanical ventilation and ventilator management, helping to give rise to the modern intensive care unit and saving millions of lives worldwide through expertise in physiology, monitoring, and life support; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists are recognized physician leaders in patient safety science and have established the foundation of modern perioperative safety through the development of safety standards, crisis management systems, and the widespread adoption of physiologic monitoring technologies, including pulse oximetry, resulting in the largest sustained reductions in perioperative mortality of any medical specialty; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists play a critical role in addressing maternal morbidity and mortality by providing expert obstetric anesthesia care and leading rapid responses to life-threatening emergencies, including hemorrhage, hypertensive crises, and cardiac events, while advancing multidisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based protocols, and health equity; and

WHEREAS, Anesthesiologists led the advancement of regional anesthesia techniques, including nerve blocks, spinal anesthesia, and epidural anesthesia, transforming pain management, reducing opioid exposure, and contributing to efforts to address the opioid epidemic; and

WHEREAS, The advancement of cardiothoracic, transplant, and trauma anesthesia by anesthesiologists has made once-impossible, high-risk surgical procedures—including open-heart surgery and organ transplantation—safe and achievable; and

WHEREAS, The California Society of Anesthesiologists is a physician organization with more than 3,000 physician members dedicated to promoting the highest standards of anesthesiology, fostering excellence through continuing medical education, advancing patient safety, and advocating for anesthesiologists and the patients they serve; 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 25, 2026, to January 31, 2026, inclusive, as Anesthesiologists Week; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges all Californians to recognize anesthesiologists as physician leaders of the anesthesia care team and critical care specialists whose expertise in patient safety, pain management, and life-sustaining care protects the health and well-being of surgical, obstetric, and chronic pain patients every day; and be it further

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