Opinion ID: 1966956
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Job Opportunities and Farm Health and Safety Divisions.

Text: The purpose of the Job Opportunities division is to assist individuals, primarily those who are disabled, to find employment. The purpose of the Farm Health and Safety division is to educate members of the agricultural community in the methods of preventing farm-related injuries, fatalities, and illness. In addition to creating hazardous waste guideline materials for businesses, this division administers free health screenings for farmers as well as other educational and preventative services. Although these purposes do not relate to the traditional role of health care, they clearly relate to the overall health and welfare of the community. See Sebastian County Equalization Bd. v. W. Ark. Counseling & Guidance Ctr., Inc., 296 Ark. 207, 752 S.W.2d 755, 758 (1988) (gymnasium and meeting rooms used for both clinic patients and general public did not affect mental health center's exempt status). The major changes in the health care area have necessitated corresponding changes in definitional predicates. Harvard Cmty. Health Plan, Inc., 427 N.E.2d at 1163. Here, one program helps prevent accidents that would require medical services and the other program relates to the long-term overall care needs for those who have suffered health problems. Considering the changing nature of health care, we have no difficulty in concluding that these programs are reasonably necessary facilities to the effective and efficient operation of the hospital, much like prenatal services offered by the hospital in another area of the complex provides parenting skills and prepares expecting parents for the birthing process. Similarly, the agricultural health care services provided by the Farm and Health Safety division seek to prepare farmers for unexpected accidents that may arise in the workplace, as well as to prevent such accidents from occurring. Moreover, the hospital declares part of its responsibility as a rural hospital to provide for the welfare of farmers, which constitutes a significant portion of the community's employed population. Likewise, the Job Opportunities division fosters care of the disabled and assists them in a full and complete recovery. These programs not only reduce the burdens on the hospital and serve the health and welfare of the community, but tend to diminish the burdens on government in general. We conclude both areas constitute a public use and any private benefit would be incidental to the public use. Likewise, any profit would also be incidental to the primary purpose and role within the spectrum of hospital services.