For the purposes of sections 376.01 to 376.06, “county hospital” means any hospital owned or operated by a county which may consist of any number of buildings at one location or any number of buildings at different locations within the county. The county board of any county that has not established a county hospital may by resolution authorize a statutory or home rule charter city in the county and its city council to exercise the powers of a county and the county board under sections 376.01 to 376.07, in which case references in sections 376.01 to 376.07 to “county” and “county board” refer to the city so designated and its governing body, respectively.