There is created the Council on Maternal and Infant Health, hereafter in this chapter referred to as "council." The council shall be composed of 17 persons appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for terms of four years each and until their successors are appointed and qualified. The appointees shall be selected from a cross section of professional and institutional personnel together with representatives of the general public and shall include an equal number of obstetricians, pediatricians, family practitioners, and consumers. It shall also include at least one nurse, one hospital administrator, one public health physician, and one educator. The council shall elect its own chairman and such other officers as deemed necessary, and it shall establish its own rules and procedures. It shall meet upon call of its chairman, the board, or the commissioner.