§ 90-684.  Perfusion Advisory Committee.

(a) Composition and Terms. - The North Carolina Perfusion Advisory Committee is created. The Committee shall consist of seven members who shall serve staggered terms. The initial Committee members shall be selected on or before October 1, 2005, as follows:

(1) The North Carolina Medical Board shall appoint three licensed perfusionists, two of whom shall serve a term of three years and one of whom shall serve a term of two years.

(2) The North Carolina Medical Board shall appoint one physician who is licensed under Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes and is a cardiothoracic surgeon or a cardiovascular anesthesiologist, who shall serve a term of two years.

(3) The North Carolina Hospital Association shall appoint two hospital administrators, one of whom shall serve a term of two years and one of whom shall serve a one-year term.

(4) The Governor shall appoint one public member who shall serve a one-year term.

Upon the expiration of the terms of the initial Committee members, members shall be appointed by the appointing authorities designated in subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection for a term of three years and shall serve until a successor is appointed. No member may serve more than two consecutive full terms.

(b) Qualifications. - Members of the Committee shall be citizens of the United States and residents of this State. The perfusionist members shall hold current licenses from the Committee and shall remain in good standing with the Committee during their terms. Public members of the Committee shall not be: (i) trained or experienced in the practice of perfusion, (ii) an agent or employee of a person engaged in the practice of perfusion, (iii) a health care professional licensed under this Chapter or a person enrolled in a program to become a licensed health care professional, (iv) an agent or employee of a health care institution, a health care insurer, or a health care professional school, (v) a member of an allied health profession or a person enrolled in a program to become a member of an allied health profession, or (vi) a spouse of an individual who may not serve as a public member of the Committee.

(c) Vacancies. - Any vacancy shall be filled by the authority originally filling that position. Appointees to fill vacancies shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term and until their successors have been duly appointed and qualified.

(d) Removal. - The Committee may remove any of its members for neglect of duty, incompetence, or unprofessional conduct. A member subject to disciplinary proceedings in his or her capacity as a licensed perfusionist shall be disqualified from participating in the official business of the Committee until the charges have been resolved.

(e) Compensation. - Each member of the Committee shall receive per diem and reimbursement for travel and subsistence as provided in G.S. 93B-5.

(f) Officers. - The officers of the Committee shall be a chair, a vice-chair, and other officers deemed necessary by the Committee to carry out the purposes of this Article. All officers shall be elected annually by the Committee for two-year terms and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified. The chair of the Committee shall be a licensed perfusionist.

(g) Meetings. - The Committee shall hold its first meeting within 30 days after the appointment of its members and shall hold at least two meetings each year to conduct business and to review the standards and rules previously adopted by the Committee. The Committee shall establish the procedures for calling, holding, and conducting regular and special meetings. A majority of Committee members constitutes a quorum.

(h) Qualified Immunity. - The Committee and its members and staff shall not be held liable in any civil or criminal proceeding for exercising, in good faith, the powers and duties authorized by law. A person, partnership, firm, corporation, association, authority, or other entity acting in good faith without fraud or malice shall be immune from civil liability for (i) reporting, investigating, or providing an expert medical opinion to the Committee regarding the acts and omissions of a licensee or applicant that violates the provisions of G.S. 90-691(a) or any other provision of law relating to the fitness of a licensee or applicant to practice perfusion and (ii) initiating or conducting proceedings against a licensee or applicant if a complaint is made or action is taken in good faith without fraud or malice. A person shall not be held liable in any civil proceeding for testifying before the Committee in good faith and without fraud or malice in any proceeding involving a violation of G.S. 90-961(a) or any other law relating to the fitness of an applicant or licensee to practice perfusion, or for making a recommendation to the Committee in the nature of peer review, in good faith and without fraud and malice. (2005-267, s. 1; 2007-525, s. 7.)