Single-OR surgical facilities in New Jersey will not be held to the same licensing standards as hospitals and surgery centers, thanks to a pocket veto exercised by Gov. Chris Christie.
The proposed bill, which stemmed from a New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute report that questioned the safety of the state's unlicensed surgery centers, would have required all surgery centers be licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, regardless of their size. The health department does not currently license single-room centers.
Gov. Christie's pocket veto, which he has the right to use when the state legislature is not in session, "effectively kills the bill," says Jeffrey Shanton, chair of the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers' Advocacy & Legislative Affairs Committee.
He believes the DHHS's lobbying efforts led to the Christie veto. "They objected to their department having to take on licensure and inspection of these centers," he says.
DHHS representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Shanton says the NJAASC will meet with the health department commissioner to "iron out the issues" and attempt to introduce new legislation. "We continue to believe that licensure is important, actually imperative, for the industry, and most importantly for the patients."
Daniel Cook
