## GENERAL

THE ATTORNEY

OF TEXAS
AUSTIN ~I.TEOctober 19,

## 1961

Honorable Doug Crouch Opinion No. WW-1170 District Attorney FortWorth, Texas Re: Whether the Tarrant County Hospital District is authorized to add the functions and duties of the Senior Public Health Nurse under Dear Mr. Crouch: the facts stated.

You have requestedan opinion from this office to determinewhether the Tarrant CountyHospital is authorized to add the functionsand duties of the Senior Public Health Nurse to the duties that the hospital district is required to perform under the provisions of Article 449&n,Vernon's Civil Statutes. Under the provisions of Article 2351, Section 11,Vernon's Civil Statutes,the Commissioners'Court has the duty to "11. Provide for the support of

paupers and such idiots and lunaticsas cannot be admitted Into the lunaticasylum, residents of their county,who are unable to support themselves. By the term resident as used herein, is meant a person who has been a bona fide inhabitant of the county not less than six months and of the Statenot less than one year." The Legislature establisheda means for Commissioners' Courts in countieshaving populations of over 190,000 to setup a hospital or hospital systemto furnish medical aid and hospital care to the Indigent and needy persons residingwithin the hospital district. Throughout the provisions of Sections 5 and 6 of Article k&k, Vernon's Civil Statutes,the **statute** refers to the hospital or hospital system,and Section 13 furtherprovides: II

. . *and such Hospital District shallbe deemed to have assumed full responsibility for the furnishing of medical and hospital care for the needy and indigent persons resrding In said Hospital District from the date that taxes are collected for the Hospital District."Honorable Doug Crouch,page 2. (WW-1170)

From the provisions of Article 449&n, it is evident that the hospital district and the taxes that it collects are to be used to provide for medicaland hospital care for needy and indigentpersons,within the meaning of the terms of Article 2351, Section 11,Vernon's Civil Statutes. From the facts related in your request that the duties of the public health nurse are to deal principally with outlying schools in the county for the purpose of controlling communicablediseases among school children, it Is our opinion that her duties could not be consideredto fallwithin those authorized for hospital districts to undertake under the provisions of Article 449&n,Vernon's Civil Statutes.

This conclusion is stren thened by the fact that under the provisions of Article 4 18f, & quoted below
"It shallbe lawful for the State Department of Health to accept donations and contributions,to be expended in the interest of the public health and the enforcement of public health laws. The Commissioners Court of any County shallhave the authority to appropriate and expend money from the general revenues of Its County for and in behalf of public health and sanitationwithin its County.", the Commissioners'Courtsare given authority to appropriate and expend money from the general revenues of the county for and on behalf of public health and sanitationwithin its countywhich shows that it was contemplatedby the Legislature that the burden of maintainingpersonnel to promote public health and to enforcepublic health lawswas to fall on the Commissioners'Court rather than the countyhospital district.

SUMMARY

The Tarrant CountyHospital District is not authorized to add theHonorable Doug Crouch,Page 2 (ww-1170)

JCS:zt functionsand duties of the Senior

Public Health Nurse,under the stated facts, to the duties imposedby statute on a countyhospital district In Tarrant County. Very truly yours, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas

BYF e. JGb+wy John C. Stelnberger Assistant

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V.Geppert, Chairman Elmer McVey Gordon Cass Riley Eugene Fletcher IolaWilcox
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.