Title 44, Health

The powers conferred in this article are cumulative and in addition to all existing laws authorizing the building, operation and maintenance of hospitals, and none of them are hereby amended or repealed, it being the intent hereof to provide additional authority and powers and al…

The purpose of this article is to ensure that high quality services are provided in health facilities in this State. To achieve these purposes, this article requires the licensure of facilities rendering medical, nursing, and other health care.

As used in this article: (1) "Affected person" means the applicant, a person residing within the geographic area served or to be served by the applicant, persons located in the health service area in which the project is to be located and who provide similar services to the propo…

The city council of any municipal corporation in the State containing more than five thousand inhabitants and less than ten thousand inhabitants, which has acquired, constructed or caused to be constructed a hospital, may establish a city hospital commission to operate and manage…

Any such commission shall select its chairman and secretary. Minutes of all its meetings shall be kept and be subject to the inspection of the city council or its representatives, and it shall submit reports to the city council annually or oftener if desired.

Any such city hospital commission shall have the control and management of the hospital and may select the employees and officers of the hospital, including its medical and surgical staff, and may fix the charges and fees to be paid for the services of the hospital and adopt such…

Any such commission may provide for such compensation as may be necessary or advisable for the payment of any of its employees and officers in the conduct and management of the hospital, together with the expenses of the hospital, with authority to make such repairs or alteration…

The department is designated the sole state agency for control and administration of the granting of Certificates of Need and licensure of health facilities and other activities necessary to be carried out under this article.

This article may be referred to and cited as the "Hospital Revenue Bond Act."

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of South Carolina to promote the public health and welfare by providing means for the financing, refinancing, acquiring, enlarging, improving, constructing, equipping, and providing of hospital facilities to serve the people of …

In this article, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Authorizing issuer" means the county issuing bonds pursuant to Section 44-7-1640. (b) "Bonds" or "revenue bonds" include notes, bonds, refunding bonds, and other obligati…

Subject to obtaining approvals from the Authority required by Section 44-7-1590 and from the Department of Health and Environmental Control, required by Section 44-7-1490, the several counties of the State functioning through their respective county boards shall be empowered: (1)…

All bonds issued by a county board under authority of this article shall be limited obligations of its county, the principal, interest and redemption premiums, if any, on which shall be payable solely out of the moneys to be derived by such county pursuant to the loan agreement r…

The principal, interest and premium, if any, on any bonds shall be secured by a pledge of the revenues payable to the county pursuant to the loan agreement relating to the hospital facilities financed out of the bond proceeds and any bonds may be issued pursuant to a trust indent…

Contracts for the construction of any hospital facilities may be let on such terms and under such conditions as the county board and the hospital agency or public agency may agree upon and may be let with or without advertisement or call for bids.

In undertaking any hospital facilities pursuant to this article, the county board shall be guided by and shall observe the following criteria and requirements; provided, that the determination of the county board as to its compliance with such criteria and requirements shall be f…

The county board shall not undertake the acquisition, construction, expansion, equipping or financing of any hospital facilities unless and until such approval of the Department of Health and Environmental Control for such undertaking as may be required under Article 3, Chapter 7…

(A) In carrying out the purposes of this article, the department shall: (1) require reports and make inspections and investigations as considered necessary; (2) to the extent that is necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article, enter into agreements with other department…

For the purposes of this article, public agencies are authorized and empowered to enter into loan agreements (including agreements of lease) with any county board to facilitate the financing, acquiring, constructing, improving, enlarging, expanding, equipping, providing, operatin…

The county board is authorized to make or cause to be made such investigations, surveys, studies, reports and reviews as in its judgment are necessary and desirable to determine the feasibility and desirability of the hospital facilities, the extent to which the hospital faciliti…

Every loan agreement shall contain a covenant obligating the hospital agency or public agency to effect the completion of the hospital facilities if the proceeds of the bonds prove insufficient, and each such loan agreement shall obligate the hospital agency or public agency to m…

Every loan agreement made with a hospital agency which shall be a corporation created for profit, pursuant to which a public agency shall have acquired title to any hospital facilities, shall contain a provision requiring such hospital agency to make payments to the county or cou…

Any loan agreement may provide that the hospital facilities will be owned by the county and leased to the hospital agency or public agency, may provide the hospital agency or public agency with an option to purchase the hospital facility upon such terms and conditions as the coun…

The proceeds from the sale of any bonds issued under authority of this article shall be applied only for the purpose for which the bonds were issued; provided, however, that any premium and accrued interest received in any such sale shall be applied to the payment of the principa…

(1) Any bonds issued hereunder and at any time outstanding may at any time and from time to time be refunded by the county, but only with the approval of the Authority being first obtained, by the issuance of its refunding bonds in such amounts as the county board may deem necess…

It shall be lawful for all executors, administrators, guardians, committees and other fiduciaries to invest any moneys in their hands in bonds issued under the provisions of this article.

The bonds authorized by this article and the income therefrom, all trust indentures and mortgages executed as security therefor, all loan agreements (including agreements of lease) made pursuant to the provisions hereof, and the revenues derived from any loan agreement thereof sh…

(A) No bonds may be issued pursuant to the provisions of this article until the proposal of the county board to issue the bonds receives the approval of the authority. Whenever a county board proposes to issue bonds pursuant to the provisions of this article, it shall file its pe…

(A) A person or nursing home as defined in this article is required to obtain a Certificate of Need from the department before undertaking any of the following: (1) the construction or other establishment of a new nursing home; (2) a change in the existing bed complement of a nur…

Any resolution authorizing or trust indenture providing for any bonds or any issue of bonds and any loan agreement may contain provisions, which shall be part of the contract with the holders of the bonds to be authorized, as to: (1) Pledging all or any part of the revenues of an…

(A) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and prior to obtaining a Certificate of Need or licensure pursuant to this article for acquiring a hospital facility, the Medical University of South Carolina shall: (1) submit details of the proposed acquisition for review…

All moneys received pursuant to the authority of this article, whether as proceeds from the sale of bonds or as revenues, shall be deemed to be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in this article and in any resolution or trust indenture pursuant hereto. Any offi…

Any holder of revenue bonds issued under the provisions of this article or any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under any trust indenture, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by any resolution authorizing the issuance of, or any such…

Any loan agreement may contain a provision whereby the hospital agency or public agency agrees to impose a daily charge upon persons using the hospital facilities financed out of the bond proceeds (or any other hospital facilities owned or operated by the hospital agency or publi…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the authorization of an issue of bonds the proceeds of which are loaned to more than one hospital agency or public agency to construct or acquire hospital facilities, whether or not the hospital facilities are located or wi…

The authorizing issuer and the project county are authorized and empowered to enter into an intergovernmental loan agreement to facilitate the financing of hospital facilities. An intergovernmental loan agreement obligates the project county to make payments to or on account of t…

(A) Public agencies and hospital agencies are empowered and authorized to enter into subsidiary loan agreements. Prior to entering into a subsidiary loan agreement pursuant to this article, the county board of the project county or of the authorizing issuer, if the subsidiary loa…

For the purposes of this article, public agencies may enter into one or more subsidiary loan agreements with a county board to facilitate the financing, acquiring, constructing, improving, enlarging, expanding, equipping, providing, operating, and maintaining of hospital faciliti…

The subsidiary loan agreement must contain the covenants stated in Section 44-7-1520 and may contain other terms and conditions permitted under this article for loan agreements.

Notice of the approval by a county board of any intergovernmental loan agreement or subsidiary loan agreement must be published at least once in a newspaper having general circulation in each county by the respective county board prior to the execution of such agreements. With re…

(A) The following are exempt from Certificate of Need review: (1) the relocation of a licensed hospital in the same county in which the hospital is currently located, as long as: (a) any Certificate of Need issued to the hospital for a project to be located at the hospital's exis…

Neither the members of the county board of the authorizing issuer or the project county nor any person executing any bonds, the intergovernmental loan agreement, or the subsidiary loan agreement is liable personally on the bonds nor subject to any personal liability or accountabi…

All of the provisions of this article, except item (b) of Section 44-7-1590, are applicable to the bonds authorized by Section 44-7-1640. The county board of the authorizing issuer may, on behalf of any project county which may subsequently be a party to an intergovernmental loan…

This article must not be construed as a restriction or limitation upon any powers which a county might otherwise have under any laws of this State but must be construed as cumulative. The authorization granted in this article may be carried out by a county board acting at a regul…

(A) There is created a health planning committee comprised of fourteen members. The Governor shall appoint twelve members, which must include at least one member from each congressional district. In addition, each of the following groups must be represented among the Governor's a…

There is hereby created a body politic and corporate to be known as the Pee Dee Regional Health Services District composed of the counties of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion and Marlboro (hereinafter called the district) with an office in or near the city of Fl…