Private Acts of 1961 Chapter 40

SECTION 1. That there is hereby created and established in Wayne County, Tennessee, a board of trustees to be known and designated as the "Wayne County General Hospital Board of Trustees", to have full charge of the operation and maintenance of the Wayne County General Hospital in Waynesboro, Tennessee.

SECTION 2. That the Board of Trustees shall have and be vested with full, absolute, and complete authority and responsibility for the operation, management, conduct, and control of the business and affairs of the Wayne County General Hospital, including the selection and approval of a competent medical staff, and shall:
1. Determine the policies of the hospital with relation to the patients therein and to the needs of the community.
2. To provide all necessary equipment and facilities consistent with the needs of the patients of said hospital.
3. To see that the professional standards are maintained in the care of the sick.
4. Coordinate professional interests with administrative, financial, and community needs.
5. Provide adequate finances by securing sufficient income and by enforcing businesslike control of expenditures.
6. To provide for the safe administration of funds entrusted to said Board of Trustees.
7. To keep adequate records of the hospital finances and all of its activities.
8. Surround the patients of said hospital with every reasonable protection thereby fulfilling the moral and legal responsibility of the institution by exercising proper care and sound judgment in the selection of a qualified administrator and of the  authority and responsibility of the Board of Trustees shall include but not be limited to the establishment, promulgation, and enforcement of the rules, regulations, and policies of the hospital, the upkeep and maintenance of all the property belonging to the hospital, the a ministration of all fiscal affairs of the hospital, the execution of all contracts, agreements, and other instruments.

SECTION 3. That the Board of Trustees shall be composed of five (5) in number, whose compensation is hereby fixed at Five Dollars ($5.00) per month and who shall receive ten cents (10¢) per mile, one way, to attend all meetings of the Board and who shal l be reimbursed by the hospital administrator out of funds in his hands, for such expenses as they may reasonably incur in the proper performance of their duties. The County Judge of Wayne County shall serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees and shall preside at its meetings but shall not be allowed to vote in matters pertaining to the affairs of the Board of Trustees. The County Attorney shall serve with the County Judge in an advisorycapacity only but shall have no voice or vote in the matters to come before the Board.

SECTION 4. That the initial members of the Board of Trustees shall be as follows: J. H. Haggard, J. R. Roberts, T. C. Winford, Joe W. Butler, and R. L. Scott. All of said Trustees shall take office on April 20, 1961, and the said J. H. Haggard, J. R. Roberts, and Joe W. Butler shall serve for a term of three (3) years; their terms expiring March 31, 1964. T. C. Winford and R. L. Scott shall serve for a term of two (2) years, and their terms of office shall expire March 31, 1963, and as the respective terms of the Trustees expire, the Quarterly Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, at the regular January session prior thereto shall elect successors for a term of three (3) years.

SECTION 5. That the Trustees shall be citizens of Wayne County, Tennessee, but no person shall be a member of the Board of Trustees if he is:
1. An employee of the Board.
2. A member of the medical staff or a licensed doctor or physician or a registered nurse.
3. The holder of a full time remunerative position in the County Government, or physician with the Tennessee Department of Public Health, the Department of Public Welfare, or United States Public Health Service.

SECTION 6. That a Trustee whose term has expired shall continue to serve until his successor shall have been elected in the manner hereinbefore provided. In the event of death or resignation of a trustee prior to the expiration of his term, his successor shall be elected by the Quarterly Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, for the unexpired term. Any incumbent trustee shall be eligible for re-election to the Board of Trustees.

SECTION 7. That at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees it shall elect one of its members as secretary who shall keep minutes and records of the proceedings of the Board reflecting all business transacted by the Board. The Board of Trustees shall hold a regular meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month at such hour as the Board may decide proper and such other meetings as the Board may deem necessary and proper, and the Board is hereby empowered and authorized to change the date of the regular meeting of the Board by resolution duly entered upon the minutes of that body.

SECTION 8. That the Board of Trustees shall have authority to employ and appoint a hospital administrator for said hospital who shall hold office at the pleasure of the Board. The administrator shall not be a member of the Board of Trustees but shall be a qualified person experienced in hospital administration, whose duties and responsibilities shall be as herein designated and shall be determined and prescribed by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall select and approve the medical staff of the hospital and all doctors, physicians, and surgeons composing the medical staff thereof.

SECTION 9. That the administrator employed by the Board:
1. Shall be chief executive officer of the hospital subject to the bylaws, rules, and regulations adopted by the Board and shall be under the control and direction of the Board of
Trustees.
2. Shall, with the consent of the Board of Trustees, equip the hospital with all necessary furniture, appliances, fixtures, equipment, and medical facilities for the care and treatment of patients and for the use of the officers and employees thereof.
3. Shall be the purchasing agent for the hospital and shall purchase all necessary supplies in the manner and subject to the rules as laid down by the Board of Trustees.
4. Shall have general supervision and control of the records, accounts, and bills of the hospital and all internal affairs and shall maintain discipline therein and shall enforce compliance with and obedience to all rules, regulations, bylaws, adopted by the Board of Trustees for the government, discipline and management of the said hospital and the employees and patients thereof.
5. Shall make such other rules, regulations, and orders as he may deem necessary not inconsistent with law or the rules and regulations of the Board of Trustees.
6. Shall, under the rules and regulations and within the limit and in the manner prescribed by the Board of Trustees and with the advice and consent of said Trustees, employ such necessary personnel, including nurses aides, supervisors, technicians, and such other technical and general employees as shall be necessary or proper for the efficient performance of the business of the hospital, and shall prescribe their duties and discharge such employees at his discretion.
7. Shall keep or cause to be kept proper records and accounts of the business and operations of the hospital regularly, from day to day, in the books and records provided for that purpose and prescribed by the Board of Trustees and see that such records and accounts are correctly made up for the report of the Board of Trustees to the Quarterly Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, as hereinafter required.
8. Shall collect, or cause to be collected, and receive all monies due the hospital and shall deposit said monies in the bank or banks as designated by the Board of Trustees in the same form as received; shall keep an accurate account of the same; shall pay the expenses of the operation of the hospital from funds available only by check drawn on the bank or banks designated by the Board of Trustees in such manner as the Board of Trustees may direct. A complete report of the operation of the hospital shall be presented by the Administrator to the monthly meetings of the Board of Trustees.
9. Shall, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, give a bond in such sum as the Board of Trustees may determine to secure the faithful performance of his duties, the cost of the same to be included in the expense of the operation of the hospital.
10. Shall perform such other duties as the Board of Trustees may prescribe.

SECTION 10. That the Board of Trustees shall fix the salary of the Administrator and, with the advice and consent of the said Administrator, the salary or salaries of any other employees or employees of the hospital, within the limit of the funds available for the maintenance and operation of said hospital.

SECTION 11. That the Board of Trustees shall have the general superintendence, management and control of the said hospital, the hospital grounds, buildings, officers and employees thereof, of the patients therein, and of all matters relating to the government, discipline, contracts, and fiscal matters concerning the same, and to make such other bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be deemed by said Board necessary for the efficient and proper management and operation of the said hospital, and for carrying out the purposes for which said hospital was established.

SECTION 12. That the Board of Trustees shall have the books, records, and accounts of hospital audited by a reputable firm of certified public accountants for each fiscal year for the operation of the hospital; said fiscal year to begin on July 1 of each year; the audit to be completed within a reasonable time after the close of the fiscal year of the hospital. One copy of the audit shall be filed with the County Court Clerk of Wayne County, Tennessee, and said audit shall correctly set forth the operation of the fiscal year. The Board of Trustee shall annually present to the Quarterly Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, at the October term of said Court, a report setting forth the operation of said hospital, both financially and otherwise, with such recommendations to the financial needs of said hospital and as to the equipment needed or improvements necessary or desirable to be made to the hospital as shall appear to the Board to be necessary for the efficient and proper operation of the hospital in order to furnish the patients therein the proper care and attention.

SECTION 13. That the Quarterly Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, is hereby authorized to appropriate to the Wayne County General Hospital for the use of the Board of Trustees from the general funds, or from such other funds not appropriated by said county, such sum as may be required to operate said hospital, and said Quarterly Court is authorized and empowered to levy a tax in addition to all other taxes upon all taxable property within Wayne County, Tennessee, for the purpose of supplying funds necessary for the proper and efficient operation of said hospital.

SECTION 14. That if any clause, paragraph, sentence, section, or any part of this Act shall be declared or held to be unconstitutional and void, it shall not affect the remaining part or parts of this Act, it hereby being declared to be the legislative intent to have passed the remainder of this Act notwithstanding the part held to be invalid, if any. All act, or parts of acts, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 15. That this Act shall have no effect unless the same shall have been approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Quarterly County Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, on or before the next regular meeting of said Court occurring more than thirty (30) days after its approval by the Chief Executive of the State. Its approval or non-approval shall be proclaimed by the County Judge of the County Court of Wayne County, Tennessee, and shall be certified by him, if approved, to the Secretary of State.

SECTION 16. That this Act shall take effect from and after its passage and approval, the public welfare requiring it.
Passed: February 1, 1961.