Staff at the former Tulare Regional Medical Center are anxious to reopen the hospital in this Oct. 15, 2018 photo, after a one-year closure.

Just six months after Adventist Health reopened the doors of Tulare Regional Medical Center, the hospital has been embraced as a part of the organization’s family, officially taking the name Adventist Health Tulare.

The filing, made on March 15, started the lease, changing the license ownership to reflect Adventist Health. This means that Adventist Health transitions from managing the hospital for the Tulare Local Health Care District to leasing and operating it as an Adventist Health Hospital. While the lease began on March 15, Adventist needed formal approval from the California Department of Public health for the name, which it received last Friday.

“We are fortunate that we were selected to deliver the care that this community wanted and knew it needed, and we are preparing to introduce even more services in just our first year, with more to come,” said Randy Dodd, president of Adventist Health Tulare. “We look forward to caring for Tulare residents for many years.”

Since reopening last October, the hospital has seen more than 13,000 patients in its emergency department and performed more than 140 surgeries in its surgical suites. In addition, wound care, home care and pulmonary function testing are now being offered, and the obstetrics wing is expected to open by the end of summer.