23-3594.

Hospital authority; powers.

Each hospital authority shall have and exercise the following powers:

(1) To have perpetual succession as a body politic and corporate, except that any county board having declared a hospital authority to be a public corporation and body politic of this state shall, upon a showing duly made and with appropriate notice given to the Secretary of State, but not sooner than upon expiration of a period of two years from and after the date upon which the record relating to formation of such hospital authority was filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to section 23-3587, enter an order dissolving any hospital authority which does not then have under construction, own, lease as lessee or as lessor, or operate a hospital;

(2) To have and use a corporate seal and alter it at pleasure;

(3) To sue and be sued in all courts and places and in all actions and proceedings whatever;

(4) To purchase, receive, have, take, hold, lease as lessee, use, and enjoy property of every kind and description within the limits of the authority and to control, dispose of, sell for a nominal or other consideration, convey, and encumber the same and create a leasehold interest in the same, as lessor, with any nonprofit person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation, other than a county, city, or village in this state, for the benefit of the authority;

(5) To administer any trust declared or created for hospitals of the authority and to receive by gift, devise, or bequest and hold, in trust or otherwise, property situated in this state or elsewhere and, if not otherwise provided, dispose of the same for the benefit of such hospitals;

(6) To employ legal counsel to advise the board of trustees in all matters pertaining to the business of the authority and to perform such functions with respect to the legal affairs of the authority as the board may direct;

(7) To employ such technical experts and such officers, agents, and employees, permanent and temporary, as it may require and to determine their qualifications, duties, and compensation, such technical experts, officers, agents, and employees to hold their offices or positions at the pleasure of the board;

(8) To delegate to one or more of its agents or employees such powers and duties as it deems proper;

(9) To do any and all things which an individual might do which are necessary for and to the advantage of a hospital;

(10) To purchase, construct, establish, or otherwise acquire and to improve, alter, maintain, and operate one or more hospitals situated within the territorial limits of the authority. The term hospital as used in the Hospital Authorities Act shall mean and include, except as used in section 23-3597, any structure or structures suitable for use as a hospital, nursing home, clinic, or other health care facility, laboratory, laundry, nurses' or interns' residences and dormitories, administration buildings, research facilities, and maintenance, storage, or utility facilities and other structures or facilities reasonably related thereto or required or useful for the operation thereof, including parking and other facilities or structures essential or convenient for the orderly operation thereof and shall also include furniture, instruments, equipment, and machinery and other similar items necessary or convenient for the operations thereof, and any hospital authority which has established or acquired a hospital may also purchase, construct, or otherwise acquire and improve, alter, maintain, and operate all types of ancillary care facilities, including rehabilitation, recreational, and research facilities for children, addicted persons, disabled individuals, and elderly persons, including both residential and outpatient care and ancillary facilities for physicians, technicians, educators, psychologists, social scientists, scientists, nutritionists, administrators, interns, residents, nurses, students preparing to engage in the health service field, and other health care related personnel;

(11) To enter into contracts and other agreements for the purchase, construction, establishment, acquisition, management, operation, and maintenance of any hospital or any part thereof upon such terms and conditions and for such periods of time as its board of trustees may determine;

(12) To do any and all other acts and things necessary to carry out the Hospital Authorities Act, including the power to borrow money on its bonds, notes, debentures, or other evidences of indebtedness and to secure the same by pledges of its revenue in the manner and to the extent provided in the act and to fund or refund the same; and

(13) To acquire, maintain, and operate ambulances or an emergency medical service, including the provision of scheduled or unscheduled ambulance service, within and without the authority.