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IC 16-24-2-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to a county that meets the following
conditions:
(1) Has a population of:
(A) more than three hundred thousand (300,000) but less
than four hundred thousand (400,000);
(B) more than two hundred thousand (200,000) but less than
three hundred thousand (300,000);
(C) more than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) but
less than one hundred eighty thousand (180,000); or
(D) more than one hundred thirty thousand (130,000) but
less than one hundred forty-five thousand (145,000).
(2) Owns a hospital for the treatment of patients with
tuberculosis or other diseases, including chronic diseases and
diseases requiring convalescent care.
(3) Contracts with other counties for the treatment of the
citizens of those other counties.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.170-2002,
SEC.109.
IC 16-24-2-2
"Contracting county" defined
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "contracting county" means a
county that contracts with a county having a hospital for the care of
patients.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-3
Board of managers; qualifications; terms of office; compensation;
expenses
Sec. 3. (a) The county executive of the county owning the
tuberculosis hospital shall appoint a board of managers for the
hospital consisting of four (4) residents of the county. Two (2) of the
members must be licensed and practicing physicians. Not more than
two (2) of the members may belong to the same political party. The
board is a body corporate and politic.
(b) The term of office of each member of the board is four (4)
years and until a successor is appointed and qualified. However, the
first term of one (1) of the members expires annually. The members
of the governing board are entitled to receive annual salaries not to
exceed six hundred dollars ($600) each and payment for actual and
necessary traveling and other expenses.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-5
Board of affiliation and public relation
Sec. 5. (a) The governing board shall create a board of affiliation
and public relation, which consists of the following:
(1) The president.
(2) The superintendent.
(3) The medical director.
(4) The superintendent of nurses.
(5) An executive secretary, to be appointed by the president and
superintendent.
(b) The board of affiliation and public relation shall cooperate
with the county executives of the contracting counties and county
executives' official visitors.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-6
Governing board; powers and duties
Sec. 6. The governing board has the following powers and duties:
IC 16-24-2-7
Superintendent; powers and duties
Sec. 7. (a) The superintendent is the chief executive officer of the
hospital and is subject to bylaws, rules, and regulations of the
hospital and to the board of managers and the board's president.
(b) The superintendent shall do the following:
(1) Equip the hospital for the care and treatment of patients and
for the use of the officers and employees and to purchase,
directly or if the county has a purchasing agent, through the
county purchasing agent, all necessary supplies and equipment.
The superintendent shall determine the quality needed or the
practicability of the articles requisitioned.
(2) The following:
(A) Supervise and control the records, accounts, and
buildings of the hospital and the hospital's internal affairs.
(B) Maintain discipline.
(C) Enforce compliance with all rules, bylaws, and
regulations adopted by the board of managers for the
government, discipline, and management of the hospital and
make further rules, regulations, and orders not inconsistent
with those of the board of managers.
(3) The following:
(A) Appoint a licensed physician, as medical director, who
has at least five (5) years experience in the treatment of
tuberculosis.
(B) Employ doctors, department heads, nurses, and
employees the licensed physician considers proper and
necessary for the efficient performance of the business of the
hospital.
(C) Prescribe staff duties, and discharge staff at the
superintendent's discretion.
(4) Keep accurate accounts and records of the business and
operations of the hospital and include the accounts and records
in an annual report for the board of managers, who shall
incorporate the accounts and records in the board's report to the
county executive.
(5) Admit the following persons to the hospital in the order of
application:
(A) A person:
(i) with tuberculosis in any form and other diseases the
board of managers designates; and
(ii) who has resided in the county for at least one (1) year
before the application for admission.
(B) Persons from other counties or states, as provided in this
chapter.
(6) Keep records of the admission, physical condition, and
treatment of each patient, including name, age, sex, color,
marital condition, residence, occupation, and place of last
employment.
(7) The following:
(A) Have a physical examination made of persons admitted
to the hospital.
(B) Provide for the treatment of each patient according to the
patient's need.
(C) Keep records of the condition of each patient when
admitted and thereafter.
(8) Discharge and report to the board of managers concerning
a patient who meets any of the following conditions:
(A) Willfully or habitually violates the rules of the hospital.
(B) Does not have or has recovered from tuberculosis or
other diseases designated by the board of managers.
(C) Is no longer a suitable patient for treatment.
(9) Hold clinics in all counties affiliated with the hospital,
which must be arranged for and under the supervision of the
official visitor of the contracting county.
(10) Receive and administer all gifts, bequests, and devises on
behalf of the hospital. A gift of money shall, after the payment
of all taxes, fees, costs, and other expenses, be deposited in the
depository of the hospital designated by the county executive
and shall be managed by the board of managers for the best
interest of the hospital, according to the donor's conditions.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-8
Treasurer; duties
Sec. 8. (a) The treasurer shall do the following:
(1) Collect and receive all money due the hospital in the name
of the hospital and deposit the money in a bank designated by
the county executive.
(2) Keep an accurate account of the money collected and
received and make a written report to the board of managers, at
their regular monthly meeting.
(3) Before entering upon the treasurer's duties, post a bond in an
amount determined by the board of managers to secure faithful
performance.
(b) The board of managers shall transmit the funds to the treasurer
of the county within ten (10) days after the meeting. The treasurer
shall place the funds in a special fund for the exclusive use of the
hospital.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-9
Application for admission; examination; payment for care and
treatment
Sec. 9. (a) Any resident of the county may apply in person to the
hospital for treatment or to a physician for examination. If the
physician finds that the person has tuberculosis in any form, the
physician may apply to the superintendent of the hospital for
admission.
(b) The superintendent shall forward application forms to any
physician in the county, upon request and without charge. If
practicable, applications for admission to the hospital shall be made
upon these forms.
(c) If:
(1) the superintendent receives an application from a person
who appears to have tuberculosis; and
(2) there is a vacancy in the hospital;
the superintendent shall notify the person named in the application
to appear at the hospital.
(d) If, upon examination of the patient, the superintendent is
satisfied that the patient has tuberculosis and has made the proper
financial arrangement for care and treatment, to the extent of the
patient's ability, the superintendent shall admit the patient to the
hospital.
IC 16-24-2-10
Patient's financial circumstances; inquiry; payment according to
ability
Sec. 10. Whenever a patient is admitted to the hospital from the
county in which the hospital is situated, the superintendent shall
inquire into the circumstances of the patient and of the relatives of
the patient legally liable for the patient's support. If the
superintendent finds that the patient or the patient's relatives are able
to pay for care and treatment, in whole or in part, the superintendent
shall direct the patient or the patient's relatives to pay to the treasurer
of the hospital a specified amount each week, in proportion to the
patient's or the patient's relatives' financial ability. The hospital has
the same authority to collect from the estate of the patient, or the
patient's relatives legally liable for the patient's support, as the
township trustee as administrator of township assistance in similar
cases. If the patient or the patient's relatives are not able to pay,
either in whole or in part, the care and treatment become a charge
upon the county.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.73-2005, SEC.167.
IC 16-24-2-11
Care and treatment of county nonresidents; contract;
appropriation; tax levy
Sec. 11. (a) The county executive of a county without a
tuberculosis hospital may, by contract, arrange for the care and
treatment of the county's citizens in a tuberculosis hospital in another
county. The contract must fix the minimum number of patients to be
sent to the hospital for any year and the amount of compensation to
be paid for the care and treatment of those patients. The
compensation must not exceed the actual cost of the operation of the
hospital plus the interest charge on the bonded indebtedness of the
hospital.
(b) The county fiscal body of the county contracting for the care
and treatment of tuberculosis patients shall appropriate an amount
out of the county general fund sufficient for the care and treatment
of tuberculosis patients and this fund constitutes a special fund. The
county may levy a tax for this purpose or the county executive may
pay the hospital out of the general fund.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-13
Admission of nonresidents; liability for care and treatment
Sec. 13. (a) Whenever the superintendent receives an application
for the admission of a patient from another county, the
superintendent shall notify the person to appear at the hospital if the
following conditions are met:
(1) It appears that the person has tuberculosis, or a similar
disease.
(2) There is a vacancy in the hospital.
(3) There is no pending application from a patient residing in
the county in which the hospital is located.
(b) If, upon personal examination of the patient by the medical
staff of the hospital, the superintendent determines that the patient
has tuberculosis, the superintendent shall admit the patient to the
hospital. The patient is a charge against the executive of the county
sending the patient, at a rate to be fixed by the board of managers but
not to exceed the per capita cost of maintenance, including a
reasonable allowance for interest on the cost of the hospital. The bill
shall, when verified, be paid by the auditor of the county. The county
executive of the contracting county shall investigate the
circumstances of the patient and of the patient's relatives legally
liable for the patient's support. The county executive has the same
authority as a township trustee as administrator of township
assistance in similar cases to collect, according to the patient's or the
patient's relatives' financial ability, the cost of the maintenance.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7. Amended by P.L.73-2005, SEC.168.
IC 16-24-2-14
Access to books and records
Sec. 14. The officers of the hospital shall admit the governing
board, the county executive, the representatives of the state board of
accounts, and all other public agencies having legal authority into
every part of the hospital and give these persons access, on demand,
to all books, papers, accounts, and records pertaining to the hospital.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-15
Joint county hospitals; allocation of costs; board of managers;
admissions pro rata and otherwise
Sec. 15. (a) At least two (2) counties may agree to establish and
maintain a tuberculosis hospital.
(b) The county executive of each county proposing to cooperate
may enter into an agreement to establish the hospital and shall
apportion the cost of establishing and maintaining the hospital among
the cooperating counties, according to the ratio of taxable property
in the counties. Each county executive shall appoint an equal number
of the members of the board of managers but shall not appoint more
than two (2) members. The number of patients admitted from the
cooperating counties shall be based on the population of the counties.
If there are not as many applications for admission as a county is
entitled to, admission is made in the order the applications are
received or as agreed among the cooperating counties.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.
IC 16-24-2-16
Nonprofit hospitals; county aid
Sec. 16. Whenever an association is incorporated under Indiana
law as a nonprofit corporation, for the purpose of constructing,
operating, and maintaining a hospital to treat and care for persons
with tuberculosis or other diseases, the county executive of the
county in which the hospital is located may:
(1) lease or convey the hospital of the county to the corporation;
and
(2) give financial aid to:
(A) maintain and operate the hospital; and
(B) pay for the treatment of county residents.
As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.7.