Section 46:1098.1 - St. Tammany Parish Service District No. 2; creation; boundaries; purposeA. There is hereby created a hospital service district in St. Tammany Parish, hereafter to be termed the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2, a political subdivision of the state, referred to in this Part as the "district". The district is hereby granted all of the rights, powers, privileges, and immunities accorded by law and the Constitution of Louisiana to political subdivisions of the state, subject to the limitations provided in this Part.B. The district shall be comprised of all territory within Wards 6, 7, 8, and 9 of St. Tammany Parish and shall own and operate the Slidell Memorial Hospital.C. The district is created for the following purposes:(1) To own and operate healthcare facilities, including but not limited to hospitals, for the care of persons suffering from illness or disability.(2) To administer other activities related to a healthcare provision or promotion or to the promotion of the financial viability of the district.(3) To promote and conduct scientific research and training related to health care.(4) To participate, so far as circumstances may warrant, in any activity designated and conducted to promote the general health of the community. The district shall cooperate with the parish health department in the detection, prevention, and combating of any illness, mass immunization and screening tests, or public health education that contributes to the best interest of the public.(5) To cooperate with other public and private institutions and agencies engaged in providing health services to the public.D. The district shall constitute a body corporate in law with all the powers of a corporation; shall have perpetual existence; and shall have the power and right to incur debts and contract obligations, to sue and be sued, and to do and perform any and all acts in its corporate capacity and its corporate name necessary and proper for the carrying out of the objects and purposes for which the district was created. The district shall have the right and power of expropriating property for the purpose of acquiring land for any purpose that it may find necessary in the operation of a hospital service district and may acquire by donation or purchase, any existing hospital facility in the district. It shall also have the power and authority to acquire any and all necessary equipment and buildings for the purpose of performing the objects for which it is formed, and shall own all sites and physical facilities, which are acquired either by donation, purchase, expropriation, exchange, or otherwise, in full ownership. The provisions of this Subsection shall be subject to the limitations of this Part.E. The district shall have an audit and examination of its books and accounts conducted annually by a qualified certified public accountant. The audit shall be filed with the legislative auditor within six months after the close of the period audited. The legislative auditor shall have the authority to prescribe the terms and conditions of the audit conducted by a certified public accountant and to require the district to present the terms and conditions to him for approval prior to the commencement of the audit. The legislative auditor shall have access to the working papers of the accountant during the examination and subsequent to its termination. The legislative auditor shall be authorized to conduct an independent audit and examination of the books and accounts of the district pursuant to R.S. 24:513.F. The district may establish by resolution any healthcare facility as a profit or nonprofit corporation as defined by law. The district shall have a corporate seal. Copies of all the regulations and copies of proceedings of the board certified by its secretary-treasurer, under its corporate seal, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the acts and proceedings of the commission. Acts 2020, No. 365, §1, eff. June 12, 2020.Added by Acts 2020, No. 365,s. 1, eff. 6/12/2020.