Chap. 259.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Chapter 354 of the Acts of Assembly
of 1942, approved April 1, 1942, relating to establishment, terms and conditions
of certain medical scholarships, so as to expand the provisions oo and
make an appropriation therefor. [fH B 292]

Approved March 25, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That chapter three hundred fifty-four of the Acts of Assembly
of nineteen hundred forty-two, approved April one, nineteen hundred
forty-two, be amended and re-enacted, as follows:

The respective governing boards of the Medical College of Virginia
and of the University of Virginia are hereby authorized and empowered
to establish ten annual medical scholarships each, which twenty scholar-
ships hereby authorized shall be of the annual value of five hundred and
fifty dollars each, and shall be awarded and paid subject to the following
conditions and restrictions :

(1) Each applicant for any such scholarship must be a bona fide
resident of the State of Virginia when such scholarship is awarded. The
awards shall be made upon such basis, competitive or otherwise, as may
be determined by the president or other proper officer of the said school
with due regard to the scholastic attainments, character, and adaptability
of the applicant for the service contemplated in such award; provided,
that no award shall be made if the applicant therefor fails to possess
the requisite qualifications.

(2) Before any such scholarship is awarded the applicant shall
sign a written contract under the terms of which he agrees to pursue the
medical course of the school awarding said scholarship until his gradua-
tion, and, after graduating and completing a term of not exceeding two
years, as an interne at some hospital or institution approved by the said
school, to promptly begin and thereafter engage continuously in the
general practice of medicine in a rural community in the State of Virgin-
ia, selected by the State Health Commissioner with the approval of the
State Board of Health, for a period of years equal in number to the years
that he has been or shall be a beneficiary of any such scholarship or
scholarships; provided, that one year’s internship in any rural hospital
in the State of Virginia, selected by the State Health Commissioner
with the approval of the State Board of Health, shall be considered
the equivalent of a year’s practice of medicine in a rural community.
The said contract shall provide that if such applicant enters the military
service upon completion of his service as an interne, he shall begin prac-
tice in the rural community selected as provided herein promptly upon
the termination of such military service, and shall further provide that
in the event the applicant shall fail to comply with the provisions thereof
or any of them, he shall repay to the said school all amounts received by
him as a beneficiary of such awards, such repayment to be upon such
terms and conditions as may be determined by the said school. Such
contract shall contain such other provisions as may be necessary, in the
opinion of the president or other proper officer of the school, to ac-
complish the purposes of the scholarships.

(3) As further evidence of the promise of such recipient to make
such repayment, as to each scholarship awarded him in the event he
shall fail or refuse to fulfill the conditions and requirements herein speci-
fied as to such scholarship, he shall, when such scholarship is awarded,
be required to execute and deliver to the school awarding the scholar-
ship a note in the principal sum of five hundred and fifty dollars, with
interest, which note shall be accepted by the said school upon the condi-
tion that such note, and any other similar notes so given, shall be cancel-
led by the said school upon the basis of one note for each year in which he
shall practice medicine in a rural community selected as hereinbefore
set forth; provided, however, that no recipient of any such scholarship
shall be permitted to plead the statute of limitations or interpose a plea
of infancy in the event of an action being brought against him on any
such note.

(4) Each recipient, when such scholarship is awarded, shall be
required to insure his life, for the benefit of the school awarding the
scholarship, in a sum equal at least to the value of each scholarship
awarded him, said insurance policy to contain a specific provision that
the school beneficiary shall not be changed without consent of said bene-
ficiary. Upon cancellation of each note executed by the recipient as here-
inbefore provided, the school beneficiary shall consent to such change
in the beneficiary of the corresponding insurance policy as may be desig-
nated by the said recipient. Upon the failure of the said recipient to dis-
charge his obligation either by service or payment, as herein required,
or by reason of his death or any other cause, the said policy or policies
and any and all proceeds derived therefrom shall become the property
of the said school beneficiary. All premiums on said insurance policy
or policies shall be paid by the recipient of the scholarship.

(5) All money repaid by any such recipient, and all proceeds
derived by such school beneficiary from any such insurance policy, shall
be placed in a special fund which shall be used for medical scholarships
in accordance with the provisions of this act.

(6) Each such scholarship shall be awarded for a single year,
but the same student shall, after making satisfactory progress toward his
degree in the discretion of the president or other proper officer of the said
school, receive such award for any succeeding year or years, provided
no student shall receive any such scholarship for more than a total of
four years.

(7) The funds making up each such scholarship shall be paid to
the recipient thereof, or applied to the payment of his expenses at such
medical school, in such amounts and at such times during such school
year as may be determined by the president or other proper officer of the
said school; provided, however, that no recipient shall receive for any
such scholarship less than five hundred and fifty dollars.
2. To provide funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this
act, there is hereby appropriated to the Medical College of Virginia and
to the University of Virginia, out of any funds in the State treasury not
otherwise appropriated, the sum of five thousand five hundred dollars
each, or so much thereof as may be necessary for said purpose, for each
year of the biennium beginning July first, nineteen hundred forty-six.
All payments out of this appropriation shall be made by the Treasurer of
Virginia on warrants of the Comptroller issued on vouchers signed by
the president or other authorized officer or officers of the respective
schools. .