Can a Mississippi county redirect money from a county-owned nursing home into fire, rescue, and 911 services instead of just ambulance services?

Plain-English summary

Chickasaw County receives money from the Shearer-Richardson Memorial Nursing Home in Okolona under Mississippi's community-hospital statute, Miss. Code § 41-13-38. The county had been using the money to pay for ambulance services. The board of supervisors asked whether it could expand the use to other emergency services, like fire and rescue equipment and 911.

The AG said yes, with one important caveat about who decides. Section 41-13-38 puts the decision-making authority with the nursing home's board of trustees, not the county. The trustees must affirmatively find that the additional emergency-service funding "will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area." If they make that finding, the county may use the money for fire, rescue, and 911 just as legitimately as it had been using it for ambulance service.

The opinion follows a long line of MS AG guidance on the same statute. McKenzie (1989) approved walking-track construction; Hopkins (2016) confirmed donations to the county itself; Snell (2018) approved restrooms, pavilions, and a community wellness center. The pattern: the substantive scope of permissible uses is broad, but the procedural requirement (board-of-trustees finding tied to citizen health or welfare) is rigid.

The opinion treats a county as functionally equivalent to a nonprofit for this statute's purposes, citing the McKenzie analysis. A county is not a for-profit enterprise and is using the money for citizen welfare, so it shares the relevant attributes of the nonprofit recipients § 41-13-38 was designed for.

What this means for you

County boards of supervisors: Under the opinion, the county may use nursing-home funds for additional emergency services such as fire and rescue equipment and 911, but the decision rests with the nursing home's board of trustees, not the county. The trustees must determine that the use will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area.

Community-hospital and nursing-home trustees: Following Snell and Hopkins, the opinion treats whether a particular use is permissible as a factual determination the board of trustees must make under § 41-13-38, tied to the statutory finding that the action benefits the health or welfare of citizens of the service area.

Emergency-services and county finance officers: The opinion conditions the county's use of these funds on the trustees' § 41-13-38 finding. The opinion itself does not authorize the new use; that authorization comes from the trustees making the required determination.

Common questions

Can a Mississippi county use county nursing-home funds for fire, rescue, and 911?

The opinion concludes the county may, if the nursing home determines under § 41-13-38 that the action will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area.

Who decides whether the funds can be used this way?

The nursing home's board of trustees. The opinion, citing Snell, describes this as a factual determination that must be made by the board, not the county.

Why does the nursing home control the money instead of the county?

Section 41-13-38 frames the funding as financial assistance or a grant from the community hospital (here, the nursing home) to the recipient. The opinion places the required finding, and thus the decision, with the board of trustees.

Does this apply to community hospitals as well as nursing homes?

The statute covers community hospitals, and the opinion notes that a nursing home established under §§ 41-13-10 et seq. is included within that category for purposes of § 41-13-38.

Background and statutory framework

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-13-38 governs the financial-assistance authority of the boards of trustees of community hospitals. Subsection (2) is the operative grant-of-authority provision: a board of trustees "may provide financial assistance or provide grants to nonprofit health-care provider groups and other recognized nonprofit entities and charities where it is determined by the board that such action will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area." Nursing homes established in accordance with Sections 41-13-10 et seq. are included in the "community hospital" category for purposes of this section.

The county-as-recipient question was settled in MS AG Op., McKenzie (Sept. 25, 1989). McKenzie reasoned that although a county is not a per se nonprofit, "a county is a political subdivision of the State and does not act as a for-profit enterprise. In that regard, a county shares features with a nonprofit entity, and in this particular statutory situation, a county and a nonprofit are functionally the same since they are using the community hospital's money for the health and welfare of its citizens."

The decision-allocation principle ("factual determination that must be made by the board of trustees") was reaffirmed in MS AG Op., Hopkins (Nov. 4, 2016) and MS AG Op., Snell (June 22, 2018). Both opinions limit the AG's review role: the AG does not second-guess the trustees' factual judgment, only confirms whether the use falls within the statutory categories.

Citations

The governing statute: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-13-38, particularly subsection (2). The community-hospital framework that defines "community hospital" to include qualifying nursing homes: Miss. Code Ann. §§ 41-13-10 et seq. Prior AG opinions on point: McKenzie (Sept. 25, 1989) (walking tracks); Hall (Aug. 30, 2012); Hopkins (Nov. 4, 2016) (county donations); Snell (June 22, 2018) (park amenities).

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/A.-McFarland-December-4-2025-Funds-Provided-by-Nursing-Home.pdf

Original opinion text

December 4, 2025

The Honorable Anderson McFarland
President, Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors
1 Pinson Square
Houston, Mississippi 38851

Re: Funds Provided by Nursing Home

Dear Mr. McFarland:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

According to your request, Chickasaw County ("County") currently receives money from the Shearer-Richardson Memorial Nursing Home ("Nursing Home") in Okolona, Mississippi, pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 41-13-38. Previously, this money has been used to fund ambulance services.

Question Presented

Does the County have the authority to use the money it receives from the Nursing Home to fund other emergency services such as providing fire and rescue equipment and 911 services?

Brief Response

The County may use funds from the Nursing Home for additional emergency services if the Nursing Home determines "that such action will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area" in accordance with Section 41-13-38.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Pursuant to Section 41-13-38, the board of trustees of a community hospital, which includes a nursing home established in accordance with Sections 41-13-10 et seq., "may provide financial assistance or provide grants to nonprofit health-care provider groups and other recognized nonprofit entities and charities where it is determined by the board that such action will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area." In the Snell opinion, we were asked whether a county could use funds from a county nursing home for the layout and construction of restrooms, pavilions, and a community wellness center at a county-owned park. MS AG Op., Snell at 1. We stated that whether this use was permissible is a factual determination that must be made by the board of trustees of the nursing home. Id.; see also MS AG Op., Hopkins at 2 (opining that "[a] community hospital may donate funds to the county upon making the findings required in Section 41-13-38.") (internal citations omitted). Accordingly, the County may use funds from the Nursing Home for additional emergency services if the Nursing Home determines "that such action will benefit the health or welfare of the citizens of the service area" in accordance with Section 41-13-38.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General

Footnote 1: Historically, counties have been allowed to receive funds pursuant to this statute. See MS AG Ops., McKenzie at *3 (Sept. 25, 1989) (opining that the construction of walking tracks "would be a legitimate exercise of the authority granted by § 41–13–38(2) as financial assistance to Forrest County"); Hall (Aug. 30, 2012); Hopkins (Nov. 4, 2016); Snell (June 22, 2018). Although not per se a nonprofit entity, a county is a political subdivision of the State and does not act as a for-profit enterprise. In that regard, a county shares features with a nonprofit entity, and in this particular statutory situation, a county and a nonprofit are functionally the same since they are using the community hospital's money for the health and welfare of its citizens.