347.14 Board of trustees — powers.

The board of trustees may:

1. Purchase, condemn, or lease a site for such public hospital and provide and equip suitable hospital buildings.

2. Cause plans and specifications to be made and adopted for all hospital buildings, and advertise for bids, as required by law for other county buildings, before making a contract for the construction of a building.

3. Accept property by gift, devise, bequest, or otherwise. If the board deems it advisable, the board may sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any hospital property upon a concurring vote of a majority of all members of the board of hospital trustees. The proceeds of such sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition may be applied to any lawful purpose, subject to approval of the board.

4. Borrow moneys to be secured solely by hospital revenues for the purposes of improvement, maintenance, or replacement of the hospital or for hospital equipment.

5. Establish and maintain in connection with the hospital a training school for nurses or other health professions.

6. Establish a fund for depreciation as a separate fund. Moneys deposited in the fund shall remain in the fund until such time as in the judgment of the board of trustees it is deemed advisable to use the funds for hospital purposes. Interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the fund.

7. Operate a health care facility as defined in section 135C.1 in conjunction with the hospital.

8. Purchase, lease, equip, maintain, and operate an ambulance or ambulances to provide necessary and sufficient ambulance service or to contract for such vehicles, equipment, maintenance, or service when such ambulance service is not otherwise available.

9. a. Submit to the voters at an election held on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “a”, a proposition to sell or lease a county public hospital for use as a private hospital or as a merged area hospital under chapter 145A or to sell or lease a county hospital in conjunction with the establishment of a merged area hospital. The authorization of the board of hospital trustees submitting the proposition may, but is not required to, contain conditions which provide for maintaining hospital care within the county, for the retention of county public hospital employees and staff, and for the continuation of the board of trustees for the purpose of carrying out provisions of contracts. Proceeds from the sale or lease of the county hospital or other assets of the board of trustees shall not be used for the prepayment of health care services for residents of the county with the purchaser or lessee of the county hospital or to underwrite the sale or lease of the county hospital.

b. The proposition submitted to the voters of the county shall not be set forth at length, but it shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the board of hospital trustees of ................................ county, state of Iowa, be authorized to ........................................................ (state authorization which may exclude the conditions) in accordance with the terms of authorization approved at the meeting of .................... (cite date) of the board of hospital trustees?

c. If the proposition is approved by a majority of the total votes cast for and against the proposition at the election, the board of hospital trustees shall proceed to carry out the authorization granted.

10. If the board authorizes delivery of additional health care services, assisted or independent living services, or other ancillary services under section 347.13, subsection 2, the board is granted all of the powers and duties necessary for the management, control, and government of the institutions including but not limited to any applicable powers and duties granted boards of trustees under other provisions of the Code relating to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted or independent living services, and other ancillary services irrespective of the chapter of the Code under which such an entity is established, organized, operated, or maintained, unless such provisions are in conflict with this section and section 347.13.

[S13, §409-d, -k, -o, -q; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5360; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, S81, §347.14; 81 Acts, ch 78, §20, 47]

85 Acts, ch 185, §4; 91 Acts, ch 160, §11; 99 Acts, ch 36, §7, 8; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §58, 71; 2009 Acts, ch 110, §12

Referred to in §145A.12, 347.7

Powers under consolidation, §348.2