Within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this act, the State Secretary of Health, with the advice of the Advisory Health Board, shall draw up a county health administration plan setting forth which counties may create single-county departments of health and which combinations of counties may join in the creation of joint-county departments of health under this act.¹ The plan may be revised at any time.

Before drawing up the plan, the State Secretary of Health shall make an investigation to determine which counties and which combinations of counties will be able to effect the purposes described in section 2² of this act by the creation of county departments of health. He shall consider location, area, population, the incidence of communicable or other diseases, transportation and communication facilities, the financial ability of each county to support or to contribute to the support of a full time county department of health, and all other factors relevant to the adaptability of each county or combination of counties to an efficient and economical unit of administration. The county health administration plan shall not provide for any combination of counties which may join in the creation of a joint-county department of health unless each of the counties is adjacent to at least one of the other counties. The State Secretary of Health shall send copies of the county health administration plan and of any revisions of the plan to the county commissioners of every county.