(a) A hospital association shall consist of the directors appointed by the local governing bodies, and the directors shall elect from among their number the first chairman. The term of office of each director shall be five years. A director shall hold office until his successor has been appointed and qualified. Vacancies shall be filled for any unexpired term by the local governing body having the original appointment. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The respective local governing bodies shall appoint or reappoint any director whose term expires or whenever a position becomes vacant for any other reason and shall record a certificate of such appointment or reappointment. A director shall receive no compensation for his services. If at any time a local governing unit shall cease to give financial support to the hospital association as required by the rules and regulations, such governing body shall lose all seats on the board of directors.
(b) The following alternative method of appointing the directors may be used, if the directors of any existing hospital associations so decide or if the governing body originally sponsoring a hospital association is a county governing body and so decides: There shall be the same number of directors as there are members of the county commission, and they shall be appointed from the same voting districts from which the respective members of the county commission are elected.