[HISTORY: Adopted and amended as indicated in text.]
[Adopted as Ch. 50, Art. I, of the 1984 Code]
[1964, 1st Special Session, ch. 5; 1966, ch. 5, sec. 572A(d)]
The Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County is hereby
authorized to establish and shall, within 90 days from April 7, 1964,
establish a Nursing Home Board of Allegany County, and said Board
shall be constituted and controlled as follows:
A.
Members; terms. The Board shall consist of nine members, and the
initial members shall be appointed by the County Commissioners from
nominees submitted to them by the Allegany County Commission on Problems
of the Aging. Three members shall be appointed for terms of six years,
three for four years and three for two years. As the terms of the
initial appointees expire or as vacancies occur, their successors
shall be elected by a majority vote of a quorum of the Board for terms
of six years or the remainder of the unexpired term, and thereafter,
these positions shall be so filled. No member of the Board shall be
eligible for reappointment within a year from the expiration of his
full six-year term nor if he has served as much as four years of any
unexpired term. Members of the Board shall be selected from among
persons who have been residents of Allegany County for at least three
years next preceding their appointment, and they shall be so selected
that as many areas of the County as is practical shall be represented
on the Board.
B.
Compensation. The members of the Board shall serve without compensation.
C.
Powers and duties. The Board shall establish, maintain and operate
a nursing or convalescent home or homes and any other facilities and
service necessary for the proper care and treatment of aged, convalescent
and chronically ill residents of the County and shall have the following
powers and duties:
(1)
To accept gifts, legacies, bequests or endowments for purposes of
the Board. Unless otherwise specified by the donor making such gift,
legacy, bequest or endowment, the Board, in its discretion, may expend
both the principal and income of any such gift, bequest, legacy or
endowment to support the Board's program.
(2)
To acquire and hold real and personal property by any means, including
land, other than land being used as a cemetery or burial ground, which
the County Commissioners may decide and are hereby authorized to convey
to the Board and to preserve and administer such properties.
(3)
To provide adequate facilities and services for the care and treatment
of the aged, convalescent and chronically ill citizens of the County.
These facilities and services may include physical care, medical,
nursing, recreational rehabilitative, special education and other
similar activities and, in addition, dissemination of information
relative to causes and prevention of chronic and debilitating illnesses.
(4)
To charge such fees for admission to and maintenance in such facilities
and for use of such services as may support the facilities and services;
subject, however, to the provision that where aged, convalescent and
chronically ill residents of the County are in need of such facilities
and services and are unable to pay the full cost of such care, then
the charges to such residents shall be in direct proportion to their
ability to pay for the services, and in determining the ability to
pay for services, the Board's decision shall be final.
(5)
To apply all moneys, assets, property or other things of value it
may receive to the general purposes of the Board.
(6)
To adopt, subject to the terms of this article, such rules and regulations
of any facilities or services that it establishes as may be necessary
for their proper operation.
(7)
To cooperate with and assist, insofar as practicable, any agency
of the State of Maryland, the United States of America, any subdivision
of either or any private agency or person in furtherance of any of
the purposes of this article.
(8)
To hire a director of any facility or service that it establishes
and to provide for such additional employees, their qualifications
and wages as are necessary to properly operate such facilities.
(9)
To require that all facilities and services which it establishes
maintain such standards that they may qualify for the necessary licenses
from the State Board of Health as required by law.
(10)
To integrate its facilities with, accept funds from and cooperate
with the State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene in its operations
insofar as deemed advisable by the Nursing Home Board.
(11)
To select and use any appropriate name for any facility or facilities
which the Board may establish.
(12)
To borrow money for the general purposes of the Board, giving
therefor its note or other evidence of indebtedness, and to repay
the borrowed funds, with interest, from the moneys and assets available
to the Board.
(13)
To sell, transfer, dispose, or otherwise convey its assets and/or
liabilities, including its nursing and convalescent home, to the Lions
Center for Rehabilitation and Extended Care, Inc., or any of its affiliates,
successors, or assigns.
[Added 4-9-2015 by Bill
No. 3-15, effective 5-24-2015]
D.
Chairman; meetings. The Board shall annually elect one of its members
to serve as Chairman for not more than two consecutive one-year terms.
It shall hold such meetings as may be necessary for the proper conduct
of its business, not, however, less frequently than once per month.
It shall adopt, subject to the terms of this article, such rules as
are necessary for the internal regulation of the Board.
E.
Financial support. The activities of the Board shall be supported,
insofar as possible, by citizen support, voluntary contributions,
fees and charges and payments from the state and federal government.
The County Commissioners are authorized to make annual appropriations
in support of the operations of the Nursing Home Board of Allegany
County for the purpose of maintaining an adequate level of medical
and nursing care for the aged, convalescent and chronically ill citizens
of Allegany County.
F.
Reports; recommendations. The Board shall annually make a detailed
and itemized report of its activities to the County Commissioners,
together with any recommendations and/or requests which it deems appropriate
to achieve the objectives and purposes of this article, and a copy
of said report, recommendations and requests shall be filed with the
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Allegany County, and the report, recommendations
and requests shall be available for public inspection.
G.
Purpose; status. The purpose of the Nursing Home Board of Allegany
County is declared to be for the general benefit of the citizens of
Allegany County and to be nonprofit in nature. Upon appointment of
its members by the County Commissioners of Allegany County, the Board
shall become a quasi-public corporation with perpetual existence.
The Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County, Maryland, may,
at its absolute discretion, modify the purposes of the Nursing Home
Board of Allegany County and may terminate the Board when and if its
substantial purposes cease.
[Amended 4-9-2015 by Bill
No. 3-15, effective 5-24-2015]
[Adopted as Ch. 50, Art. II, of the 1984 Code]
[Added 8-4-1978 by Bill No. 7-78, effective 9-18-1978]
All nursing home institutions operating within the geographical
area of Allegany County that are supported directly, indirectly or
by grants by the Allegany County Commissioners shall make available
at least 30% of their bed capacity for the use and benefit of persons
classified as "indigent persons," who are residents of Allegany County.
"Indigent persons" shall be defined by the State of Maryland, Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene COMAR Regulations, pertaining to eligibility
for medical care, pursuant to the authority of Health-General Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland, § 15-101 et seq. Notwithstanding
the aforegoing, the Tressler-Lutheran Service Association Unit at
Frostburg Village shall make available a minimum of 75 beds for the
use of the aforesaid class of persons.
[Added 8-4-1978 by Bill No. 7-78, effective 9-18-1978]
It shall be a general admissions policy of all nursing home
institutions that are supported directly, indirectly or by grants
by the Allegany County Commissioners that residents of Allegany County
shall be given priority of admission over nonresidents.
