Each local hospital district shall have and exercise the following powers:

(1) To have and use a corporate seal and alter it at pleasure;

(2) To sue and be sued in all courts and places and in all actions and proceedings whatever;

(3) To purchase, receive, have, take, hold, lease, use, and enjoy property of every kind and description within and outside the district and to control, dispose of, convey, and encumber the same and create a leasehold interest in such property for the benefit of the district;

(4) To exercise the right of eminent domain for the purpose of acquiring real or personal property of every kind necessary to the exercise of any of the powers of the district, which power shall be exercised in the manner provided in sections 76-704 to 76-724;

(5) To administer any trust declared or created for hospitals of the district and receive by gift, devise, or bequest and hold in trust or otherwise property situated in this state or elsewhere and, when not otherwise provided, dispose of the same for the benefit of such hospitals;

(6) To employ legal counsel to advise the board of directors in all matters pertaining to the business of the district and to perform such functions in respect to the legal affairs of the district as the board may direct;

(7) To employ such officers and employees, including architects and consultants, as the board of directors deems necessary to carry on properly the business of the district;

(8) To prescribe the duties and powers of the manager, secretary, and other officers and employees of any such hospitals, to determine the number of and appoint all such officers and employees, and to fix their compensation. Such officers and employees shall hold their offices or positions at the pleasure of such boards;

(9) To do any and all things which an individual might do which are necessary for and to the advantage of a hospital;

(10) To establish, maintain, lease, or operate one or more hospitals within or outside the district, or both. For purposes of the Nebraska Local Hospital District Act, hospital has the meaning provided in subdivision (10) of section 23-3594;

(11) To do any and all other acts and things necessary to carry out the Nebraska Local Hospital District Act; and

(12) To acquire, maintain, and operate ambulances or an emergency medical service, including the provision of scheduled and unscheduled ambulance service, within and outside the district.