O'Brien v. Physicians Hospital Ass'n

Citations

• 96 Ohio St. (N.S.) 1

Syllabus

<p>Public charity hospital—Corporation not for profit—Evidence acceptable to show nature of organization—Property purchased with donated funds — Impressed with trust character — Reception of pay patients — Not to interfere with acceptance of indigents— Receipts cannot be diverted to private profit.</p> <p>1. A corporation, organized not for profit, may show by its charter, constitution and by-laws, or by oral evidence not inconsistent therewith, that'it is organized solely for the purpose of administering a public charity, the foundation of which is derived from private donations.</p> <p>2. Property purchased with funds donated for public charity is impressed with the trust character of the funds with which it was purchased, and neither the property itself nor the income derived from its use can be diverted to private profit.</p> <p>3. The trustee of real estate purchased with funds donated for a specific public charity, cannot lawfully use the property so purchased for purposes other than the administration of the trust imposed by the donors of the fund.</p> <p>4. Where funds are donated for the purpose of establishing and operating a public charity hospital, and the trustee of such funds purchases property therewith and uses the same for the purpose of a hospital, such hospital must be conducted as a public charitable hospital. 5. A public charitable hospital may receive pay from patients who are able to pay for the hospital accommodations they receive, but the money received from such source becomes a part of the trust fund, and must be devoted to the same trust purposes and cannot be diverted to private profit. (Taylor, Admr., v. The Protestant Hospital Assn., 85 Ohio St., 90, approved and followed.)</p> <p>6. A public charitable hospital cannot receive pay patients to such an extent as will exhaust its accommodations so that it cannot receive and extend hospital service to the usual and ordinary number of indigent patients applying for admission under proper ru