Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, the following words have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) RURAL PHYSICIAN. A physician licensed to practice medicine in Alabama who practices and resides in a small or rural community and has admission privileges to a small or rural hospital.

(2) SMALL OR RURAL COMMUNITY. A community in Alabama that has less than 25,000 residents according to the latest decennial census and has a hospital with an emergency room.

(3) SMALL OR RURAL HOSPITAL. An acute care hospital that meets one of the following requirements:

a. Contains less than 105 beds and is located more than 20 miles, under normal travel conditions, from another acute care hospital located in Alabama.

b. Receives Medicare rural reimbursement from the federal government.

(Acts 1993, No. 93-313, p. 470, §2.)