§ 63-3250.3. Purpose – Creation of public trust – Instrument – Condition precedent – Filing - Amendment.

A.  1.  The Oklahoma Legislature finds that the delivery of health care services to the public including medically indigent persons will be enhanced through the establishment of community hospital public trust authorities and the creation of hospital districts pursuant to the Oklahoma Community Hospitals Public Trust Authorities Act.

2.  The purpose of the Oklahoma Community Hospitals Public Trust Authorities Act is to provide maximum utilization and efficient administration in delivering health care services by hospital districts to the public including medically indigent persons, and to provide for supplemental Medicaid programs.

B.  1.  A hospital or two or more hospitals located within a county or adjacent counties or located within a county or adjacent counties and a municipality may jointly create a public trust for the purposes of:

a.establishing a hospital district,

b.accessing and providing funding for coordination of the delivery of health care to the public including but not limited to programs that contribute to serving the medically indigent,

c.improving access to health care by the public,

d.coordinating the development of new health services in the hospital district,

e.considering various alternatives for integrating the services of the health care delivery system in the hospital district, and

f.providing for and supplementing Medicaid programs.

2.  A hospital participating in the creation of a public trust must:

a.expend at least Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually providing care for medically indigent persons, and

b.have a system of inpatient and/or outpatient health care, trauma care, or emergency care services that is not limited to a specific modality of health care.

3.  The boundaries of a community hospital public trust authority should be coextensive with the boundaries of a county or a group of member counties.

4.  The county or counties or the county or counties and municipality in which a hospital district is established must approve and shall be the beneficiary of the public trust pursuant to the provisions of Sections 176 and 177 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

C.  The instrument creating the public trust shall provide at a minimum:

1.  The reasons for organizing and constituting a hospital district, including a statement that the community hospital public trust authority will comply with all applicable provisions of Sections 176 through 180.3 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes and the Oklahoma Community Hospitals Public Trust Authorities Act;

2.  A statement that the public trust shall be separate and independent from the affairs of the beneficiary in all matters or activities authorized by the written instrument creating the public trust;

3.  The names and corporate headquarters of each hospital located in the proposed hospital district;

4.  The general patient loads of each hospital within the proposed hospital district and the anticipated number of medically indigent persons for whom medical services will be provided;

5.  A concise description of the geographic boundaries to be embraced within the proposed hospital district;

6.  A statement that the proposed hospital district is embracing only those lands within the proposed boundaries specified by paragraph 5 of this subsection which can reasonably and economically be served in the foreseeable future;

7.  Assurance that all hospitals located within the hospital district which meet the eligibility criteria can participate in the public trust;

8.  For the appointment, succession, powers, duties, terms and manner of removal of trustees;

9.  For the appointment of at least five trustees as follows:

a.the chief executive officers of the hospitals participating in the community hospital public trust authority and may include the chief executive officers of hospitals located within the hospital district,

b.   (1)one county commissioner or their designee from each beneficiary county which the hospital district embraces, appointed by the commissioners of each such county, and

(2)the chief administrative officer or his or her designee from a municipality in which the hospital district is situated, if such municipality is the beneficiary of the public trust, and

c.one member appointed by the Governor who has no direct affiliation with any hospital participating in the community hospital public trust authority; provided, that if pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph the Board will have less than five members, the Governor shall appoint additional members; and

10.  The time and place of the regular meetings and the manner in which special meetings may be called.  A community hospital public trust authority shall keep a complete record of all its proceedings.

D.  As a condition precedent, each community hospital public trust authority must receive approval from the Attorney General that the public trust is in the proper form.

E.  A certified copy of the public trust agreement must be filed with the Secretary of State and with the court clerk of each beneficiary county and municipality.

F.  Each public trust established pursuant to the Oklahoma Community Hospitals Public Trust Authorities Act shall not be amended without a two-thirds (2/3) vote of approval of the trustees of such trust.

Added by Laws 2003, c. 432, § 3, emerg. eff. June 7, 2003.