Tulare Regional Medical Center sees 10,000th patient

Adventist Health’s Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) saw its 10,000th patient on March 8, and has seen at least 1,400 more since, TRMC President Randy Dodd recently revealed at a Tulare Local Healthcare District board meeting on March 27.

“It’s a nice milestone for us to hit,” Dodd told the board.

Dodd said that Adventist Health planned to target providing obstetrics services at the hospital around July 15, and that Adventist could open a sleep lab before that date.

The main transfers out of the hospital are for cardiology, neurology, and gastrointestinal services; it’s hoped that more of those specialists could be brought to the hospital, or at least on call, preventing transfers to Adventist in Hanford, Kaweah Delta in Visalia, or even hospitals in Fresno, he said.

Additionally, the amount of patients the hospital sees per day is slowly increasing, he said. In November, the hospital saw 67, increasing to 70 in December and January, 72 in February, and 78 patients as of the 27th.

However, Dodd said the hospital’s average daily census continues to be “fairly flat,” with 9 per day in November, 10 in December, 11 in January, 10 in February, and 9 to date in March.

In order to expand services at the hospital, Dodd said that he planned to submit a request to Adventist Health’s corporate offices for $5m, which would be used to replace some imaging equipment.

“We’re about to submit a $5m investment ask of our corporate offices for the replacement of several imaging items, particularly MRI, which is really on its last leg, X-Ray, ultrasound, some portable equipment, as well as some surgical equipment that we’re looking to get done all in this year,” he said.

Officials at the hospital have identified $22m of equipment in total that is needed to establish the services that hospital officials want.

“Our initial ask is going to be for the things most important to us,” he said.