Sec. 58.

(1) A county board may, with the approval of the county board of commissioners, supervise and be responsible for the operation of a county medical care facility in, auxiliary to, or independent of the county infirmary. If a county has a board of county institutions, a county medical care facility shall be supervised and operated by the board of county institutions, and all references in this section to the county board means, for that county, the board of county institutions. The county board in a county that has established a county medical care facility may collect from any available source for the cost of care given in the facility and the collections shall be deposited in the social welfare fund created under section 73a. The facility shall provide a program of planned and continuing medical treatment and nursing care under the general direction and supervision of a licensed physician employed full or part-time who shall be known as the medical director.

(2) Medical treatment and nursing care provided in a county medical care facility shall consist of services given to persons suffering from prolonged illness, defect, infirmity, or senility, or recovering from injury or illness. The services provided shall include some or all of the procedures commonly employed, such as physical examination, diagnosis, minor surgical treatment, administration of medicines, providing special diets, giving bedside care, and carrying out any required treatment prescribed by a licensed physician that are within the ability of the facility to provide.

(3) Services provided in a county medical care facility shall be consistent with the needs of the type of patient admitted and cared for, professionally supervised and planned, and provided on a continuing basis. A person shall not be admitted or retained for care if he or she requires special medical or surgical treatment or treatment for a psychosis, tuberculosis, or contagious disease, except that the facility may contain a supervised psychiatric ward for the temporary detention of mentally ill patients if the ward has been inspected and approved by the department of community health and certified by the department of community health to the county board, and if no other facility for temporary detention of mentally ill patients exists in the county. A county department may provide for the support of poor persons who may be feeble-minded or mentally ill at some other place or places and in a manner that best promotes the interests of the county and the comfort and recovery of such persons, at the expense of the county.

(4) A county board, in seeking approval to establish, extend, and operate a county medical care facility in an existing building, shall apply in writing to the department. The county board shall include with the application a proposed plan with specifications, including standards of operation, for the examination and recommendations of the department.

(5) A county board of commissioners may determine to erect a county infirmary or county medical care facilities for the reception and care of the poor and unfortunate of the county. The county medical care facilities may be on different sites than the county infirmary. On filing the determination with the county clerk, the county board of commissioners may direct the county board to purchase 1 or more tracts of land, not exceeding 320 acres, and to erect on the land 1 or more suitable buildings for the county infirmary or county medical care facilities. Before any county infirmary or county medical care facility is erected or any existing buildings are remodeled, added to, or substantially altered under this section, before plans for the county infirmary or county medical care facilities are finally accepted, and before any contract is entered into for construction, the plans shall be submitted to the department for examination and approval. The determination reached shall be certified to the county clerk and presented to the county board of commissioners at the next regular meeting of the county board of commissioners. A county infirmary or county medical care facility shall not be constructed unless the plans have been certified under this subsection. A contract for the erection of a county infirmary or county medical care facility is not valid or binding unless the plans referred to in the contract and actually followed in the construction have been approved. Money shall not be paid from county funds for construction until the plans have been approved and the determination filed.

(6) The department shall review the proposals and plans of a county board submitted in connection with an application for the establishment, extension, and operation of a county medical care facility or county infirmary and shall consult with and give advice to the county department as to plans, procedures, and programs required for the proper establishment, extension, and operation of the county medical care facility or county infirmary.

(7) The department shall approve the county medical care facilities by proper notice to the county department. After approval, the department shall inspect the facility as frequently as it considers necessary, but at least once each year. A county department shall comply with any reasonable order issued by the department. The county department may appeal an order in writing, within 30 days of receiving the order, to the director of the department.

(8) Any reasonable order of the department for the establishment, extension, operation, or closing of a county infirmary or county medical care facility may be enforced by mandamus or injunction in the circuit court for the county where the facility is located in proceedings instituted by the attorney general on behalf of the department.

(9) A county medical care facility shall not be opened for operation until it has been inspected and approved in writing to the department by the bureau of fire services created in section 1b of the fire protection code, 1941 PA 207, MCL 29.1b, and the department of community health. The county department shall comply with any reasonable directive issued by the bureau of fire services or the department of community health with regard to the fire safety and sanitation of the county infirmary or county medical care facility. A directive may be enforced by the department in the same manner as are orders of the department. After receiving the approval of the department, the county department shall represent the facility to the public as the county medical care facility and shall make reasonable and continuing effort to divorce the facility from an association in the public mind with the words "poor house" or "poor farm".

History: 1939, Act 280, Imd. Eff. June 16, 1939 ;-- CL 1948, 400.58 ;-- Am. 1954, Act 125, Eff. Aug. 13, 1954 ;-- Am. 1957, Act 170, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957 ;-- Am. 2006, Act 200, Imd. Eff. June 19, 2006 Compiler's Notes: For transfer of powers and duties of state fire marshal to department of labor and economic growth, bureau of construction codes and fire safety, by type II transfer, see E.R.O. No. 2003-1, compiled at MCL 445.2011.Popular Name: Act 280