§ 131E-23. Powers of the authority.
§ 131E‑23. Powers of the authority.
(a) An authority shall have all powers necessary or convenientto carry out the purposes of this Part, including the following powers, whichare in addition to those powers granted elsewhere in this Part:
(1) To investigate hospital, medical, and health conditions andthe means of improving those conditions;
(2) To determine where inadequate hospital and medicalfacilities exist;
(3) To accept donations or money, personal property, or realestate for the benefit of the authority and to take title to the same from anyperson, firm, corporation or society;
(4) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation,or otherwise any existing hospital facilities;
(5) To purchase, lease, obtain options upon, or otherwise acquireany real or personal property or any interest therein from any person, firm,corporation, city, county, or government;
(6) To sell, exchange, transfer, assign, or pledge any real orpersonal property or any interest therein to any person, firm, corporation,city, county or government;
(7) To own, hold, clear and improve property;
(8) To borrow money upon its bonds, notes, debentures, orevidences of indebtedness, as provided for in G.S. 131E‑26 and G.S. 131E‑27;
(9) To purchase real or personal property pursuant to G.S. 131E‑32;
(10) To appoint an administrator of a hospital facility andnecessary assistants, and any and all other employees necessary or advisable,to fix their compensation, to adopt necessary rules governing their employment,and to remove employees;
(11) To delegate to its agents or employees any powers or dutiesas it may deem appropriate;
(12) To employ its own counsel and legal staff;
(13) To adopt, amend and repeal bylaws for the conduct of itsbusiness;
(14) To enter into contracts for necessary supplies, equipment, orservices for the operation of its business;
(15) To appoint committees or subcommittees as it shall deemadvisable, to fix their duties and responsibilities, and to do all thingsnecessary in connection with the construction, repair, reconstruction,management, supervision, control and operation of the authority's business;
(16) To establish procedures for health care providers to securethe privilege of practicing within any hospital operated by the authoritypursuant to Part 3 of Article 5 of this Chapter;
(17) To establish reasonable rules governing the conduct of healthcare providers while on duty in any hospital operated by the facility pursuantto Part 3 of Article 5 of this Chapter;
(18) To provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement,alteration or repair of any hospital facility, or any part of a facility;
(19) To enter into any contracts or other arrangements with anymunicipality, other public agency of this or any other State or of the United States,or with any individual, private organization, or nonprofit association for theprovision of hospital, clinical, or similar services;
(20) To lease any hospital facilities to or from any municipality,other public agency of this or any other state or of the United States, or toany individual, corporation, or association upon any terms and subject to anyconditions as may carry out the purposes of this Part. The authority mayprovide for the lessee to use, operate, manage and control the hospital facilities,and to exercise designated powers, in the same manner as the authority itselfmight do;
(21) To act as an agent for the federal, State or local governmentin connection with the acquisition, construction, operation or management of ahospital facility, or any part thereof;
(22) To arrange with the State, its subdivisions and agencies, andany county or city, to the extent it is within the scope of their respectivefunctions,
a. To cause the services customarily provided by each to berendered for the benefit of the hospital authority,
b. To furnish, plan, replan, install, open or close streets,roads, alleys, sidewalks or similar facilities and to acquire property, optionsor property rights for the furnishing of property or services for a hospital facility,and
c. To provide and maintain parks and sewage, water and otherfacilities for hospital facilities and to lease and rent any of the dwellingsor other accommodations or any of the lands, buildings, structures orfacilities embraced in any hospital facility and to establish and revise therents and charges;
(23) To insure the property or the operations of the authorityagainst risks as the authority may deem advisable;
(24) To invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds, or anyfunds not required for immediate disbursement, in property or securities inwhich trustees, guardians, executors, administrators, and others acting in afiduciary capacity may legally invest funds under their control;
(25) To sue and be sued;
(26) To have a seal and to alter it at pleasure;
(27) To have perpetual succession;
(28) To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessaryor convenient to the exercise of the powers of the authority;
(29) To remove vehicles parked on land owned or leased by thehospital authority in areas clearly designated as no parking or restrictedparking zones. An owner of a removed vehicle as a condition of regainingpossession of the vehicle, shall reimburse the hospital authority for allreasonable costs, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), incidental to theremoval and storage of the vehicle provided that the designation of the area asa no parking or restricted parking zone clearly indicates that the owner may besubject to these costs;
(30) To plan and operate hospital facilities;
(31) To provide teaching and instruction programs and schools formedical students, interns, physicians, nurses, technicians and other healthcare professionals;
(32) To provide and maintain continuous resident physician andintern medical services;
(33) To adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations governingthe admission of patients and the care, conduct, and treatment of patients;
(34) To establish a fee schedule for services received fromhospital facilities and make the services available regardless of ability topay;
(35) To maintain and operate isolation wards for the care andtreatment of mental, contagious, or other similar diseases;
(36) To sell a hospital facility pursuant to G.S. 131E‑8 orG.S. 131E‑13; and
(37) To agree to limitations upon the exercise of any powersconferred upon the hospital authority by this Part in connection with any loanby a government.
(b) A hospital authority may exercise any or all of the powersconferred upon it by this Part, either generally or with respect to anyspecific hospital facility or facilities, through or by designated agents,including any corporation or corporations which are or shall be formed underthe laws of this State.
(c) Expired pursuant to Session Laws 1983, c. 775, s. 1.
(d) No provisions with respect to the acquisition, operation ordisposition of property by other public bodies shall be applicable to ahospital authority unless otherwise specified by the General Assembly. (1913, c. 42, s. 15; 1917, c. 268; C.S., s. 7273; 1983, c. 775, s. 1;1995, c. 509, s. 135.1(l); 1997‑456, s. 27; 1999‑456, s. 6.)