1176

(a) All indigent public patients shall be kept and maintained at the expense of the government of the Virgin Islands.\n(b) All public patients not indigent shall be kept and maintained at the expense of the government of the Virgin Islands in the first instance, but in such cases the government shall be entitled to reimbursement in the manner provided in sections 1142 and 1143 of this title.\n(c) All private patients shall be kept and maintained at the mental hospital at their own expense or the expense of their relatives or friends. For board and room of such patients, the Commissioner of Health may make a charge at a rate to be fixed by the Commissioner not in excess of the actual cost thereof. At the time of the admission of any private patient into the mental hospital his board shall be paid monthly in advance.