THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN ~I.TEOctober 19, 1961 

Honorable Doug Crouch Opinion No. WW-1170 

District Attorney 

Fort Worth, 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 requested an opinion from this office to 

determine whether the Tarrant County Hospital is authorized 

to add the functions and 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 lunatics as 

cannot be admitted Into the lunatic asylum, 

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 State not less than 

one year." 

The Legislature established a means for Commissioners' 

Courts in counties having populations of over 190,000 to set up 

a hospital or hospital system to furnish medical aid and hospital care to the Indigent and needy persons residing within 

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 

further provides: 

II . . * and such Hospital District 

shall be 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 medical and hospital 

care for needy and indigent persons, 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 communicable diseases among school children, it 

Is our opinion that her duties could not be considered to 

fall within 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 shall be 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 shall have 

the authority to appropriate and expend 

money from the general revenues of Its 

County for and in behalf of public health 

and sanitation within its County.", 

the Commissioners' Courts are given authority to appropriate 

and expend money from the general revenues of the county for 

and on behalf of public health and sanitation within its 

county which shows that it was contemplated by the Legislature that the burden of maintaining personnel to promote 

public health and to enforce public health laws was to fall 

on the Commissioners' Court rather than the county hospital 

district. 

SUMMARY 

The Tarrant County Hospital District is not authorized to add the 
Honorable Doug Crouch, Page 2 (ww-1170) 

JCS: zt 

functions and duties of the Senior 

Public Health Nurse, under the stated 

facts, to the duties imposed by statute 

on a county hospital district In Tarrant 

County. 

Very truly yours, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

BY 

F 

e. JGb+wy 

John C. Stelnberger 

Assistant 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V.Geppert, Chairman 

Elmer McVey 

Gordon Cass 

Riley Eugene Fletcher 

Iola Wilcox 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.