Iowa Code § 347.13 (2026)
Board of trustees — duties
A board of hospital trustees’ duties shall include all of the following:
1. Engage in all activities necessary to manage, control, and govern the hospital unless otherwise prohibited under this chapter.
2. Exercise all the rights and duties of hospital trustees including but not limited to authorizing the delivery of any health care service, assisted or independent living service, or other ancillary service.
3. Adopt bylaws and rules for its own guidance and for the government of the hospital. The bylaws may contain limits on the number of terms a trustee may serve on the board.
4. Exercise fiduciary duties in accordance with section 504.831, subsections 1 through 5.
5. Employ or contract for an administrator and fix the administrator’s compensation. The administrator shall have authority to oversee the day-to-day operations of the hospital and its employees.
6. Approve the appointment of a qualified medical staff and oversee the quality of medical care and services provided by the hospital.
7. Manage and control the hospital’s funds in accordance with chapter 540A. In addition to investments permitted under section 12B.10, county hospital investments may include common stocks.
8. Establish charity care policies for free treatment or financial assistance for care provided by the hospital, and fix the price to be charged to other patients admitted to the hospital for care and treatment.
9. Procure and pay premiums on any and all insurance policies required for the prudent management of the hospital including but not limited to public liability, professional malpractice liability, workers’ compensation, and vehicle liability. Said insurance may include as additional insureds members of the board of trustees and employees of the hospital. This subsection applies to all county hospitals whether organized under this chapter, chapter 347A, chapter 37, or otherwise established by law.
10. Certify levies for a tax in excess of any tax levy limit to meet its obligations to pay the premium costs on tort liability insurance, property insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and any other insurance that may be necessary for the prudent management and operation of the county public hospital, the costs of a self-insurance program, the costs of a local government risk pool, and amounts payable under any insurance agreements to provide or procure such insurance, self-insurance program, or local government risk pool.
11. Publish quarterly in each of the official newspapers of the county as selected by the board of supervisors pursuant to section 349.1 the schedule of bills allowed, and publish annually in such newspapers the schedule of salaries paid by job classification and category, but not by listing names of individual employees. The names, business addresses, salaries,\n\nTue Dec 09 22:14:34 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 347 (35, 1) 5 COUNTY HOSPITALS, §347.14\n\nand job classification of employees paid in whole or in part from a tax levy shall be a public record and open to inspection at reasonable times as designated by the board of trustees.
12. Fix the amount necessary for the improvement and maintenance of the hospital and for support of ambulance service during the ensuing fiscal year, and certify the amount to the county auditor before April 30 of each year, subject to any limitation in section 347.7. [S13, §409-d, -g, -h, -j, -l, -m, -p, -r; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5359; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, S81, §347.13; 81 Acts, ch 117, §1062, ch 120, §1] 84 Acts, ch 1201, §1, 2; 85 Acts, ch 185, §3; 99 Acts, ch 36, §5, 6; 2004 Acts, ch 1032, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §57, 71; 2009 Acts, ch 110, §11; 2018 Acts, ch 1033, §5; 2023 Acts, ch 71, §87, 98 Referred to in §21.5, 145A.12, 347.14 Removal from office, §66.1A, 66.31 2023 amendment to subsection 12 applies to political subdivision budgets for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2024; 2023 Acts, ch 71, §98 \n