San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 28.01 Creation

For purposes of this title, the following terms shall have the following meaning:

"Family Care Centers" shall refer to the outpatient clinics that are licensed as part of General Hospital.

"General Hospital" shall refer to General Hospital, the licensed, general acute care hospital located at 2180 Johnson Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California.

"SB 538" shall refer to Chapter 899 of California Statutes of 1999, which added Chapter 4 to Part 4 of Division 101 of the California Health and Safety Code (commencing with Section 101825).

(Ord. 2903 § 1 (part), 2000)

The board of supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo does hereby find and declare that, at the time of enactment of Title 28:

(1) General Hospital is a county hospital that is owned and operated by the County of San Luis Obispo.

(2) The county board of supervisors serves as the governing board of General Hospital.

(3) General Hospital is licensed by the State of California as a general acute care hospital. The license authorizes the following:

a. Seventy-eight licensed general acute care beds, including seven pediatric beds, fourteen perinatal beds, five intensive care beds, and fifty-two unspecified general acute care beds;

b. Fourteen licensed acute psychiatric beds;

c. Basic emergency services, respiratory care services, outpatient services, physical therapy services, and social services.

(4) The Family Care Centers are outpatient clinics that are licensed as part of General Hospital, with facilities at San Luis Obispo and Atascadero.

(5) Due to the challenges facing the county arising from nation-wide, statewide, and local changes in the public and private health industries, it may be possible to provide the services now provided by General Hospital and the Family Care Centers in a more efficient, effective, and economical manner by providing those services through a hospital authority that is independent of the county.

(6) The creation of an independent hospital authority strictly and exclusively dedicated to the management, administration, and control of General Hospital and the Family Care Centers may be the best way for the county to provide medical services to the medically indigent, special needs, and general populations of San Luis Obispo County in a manner consistent with the county's obligations under Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and in a manner that constitutes an ongoing material benefit to the county and its residents.

(7) The board of supervisors has the authority to create a hospital authority for these purposes, as set forth in Section 101827 of the Health and Safety Code ("Section 101827").

(Ord. 2903 § 1 (part), 2000)

Subject to the provisions of this title, the board of supervisors hereby creates and establishes a hospital authority pursuant to Section 101827 of the Health and Safety Code.

(1) The hospital authority created pursuant to this chapter shall be known as the San Luis Obispo General Hospital Authority. The board of trustees of the hospital authority may recommend to the board of supervisors a change in name and an amendment to the hospital authority bylaws reflecting such change in name. A change in the name of the hospital authority would become effective upon the bylaws amendment. Any name change must be reported to the appropriate agencies of the State of California and accreditation bodies.

(2) The hospital authority shall comply with the provisions of Section 53051 and register with the Secretary of State as a public agency.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this title, the hospital authority shall govern and administer General Hospital and the Family Care Centers in a manner consistent with federal and state law, SB 538, this title, the bylaws of the hospital authority and formal written agreements entered into by the hospital authority.

(4) The creation and establishment of the hospital authority shall not, in and of itself, constitute a transfer of governance, maintenance, operation or management of General Hospital. Said transfers shall not occur unless and until the satisfactory completion of the tasks specified in Chapters 28.03 and 28.04 of this title and in the hospital authority governance implementation plan.

(Ord. 2903 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) The hospital authority is hereby designated a legal entity separate and apart from the county pursuant to Section 101832(c) of the Health and Safety Code. The hospital authority shall not be a division or department of the county, and shall not be an agent of the county except as expressly authorized by provisions of this title or by formal written agreement between the hospital authority and the county. The obligations or liabilities of the hospital authority shall be the obligations or liabilities solely of the hospital authority and shall not be the obligations or liabilities of the county, except as otherwise expressly provided in Health and Safety Code sections 101834 and 101835.

(b) The hospital authority is hereby deemed a public agency for purposes of eligibility with respect to grants and other funding and loan guarantee programs pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 101831 and 101832.

(c) The provisions of SB 538 pertaining to the Tort Claims Act, the Myers-Milias-Brown Act, the Public Records Act and the Brown Act shall immediately take effect.

(Ord. 2903 § 1 (part), 2000)