Patients' Hospital of Redding has reopened. What's changed at this small surgical hospital?

A Redding surgical hospital is back in operation after more than a year.

Patients’ Hospital of Redding on Eureka Way quietly reopened its doors in August, following a voluntary closure from spring 2022 to July 2023.

The hospital is expanding the insurances it accepts, the services it provides and the number of surgeons on staff, Chief of Staff and surgeon Dr. Randy Tate said.

The 10-bed hospital currently offers orthopedic, plastic and podiatric surgeries. There are plans to include other types of surgery in the near future, said Tate, who runs his Centre for Facial Plastic Surgery office next door to the hospital.

“Our goal is to make it one of the best hospitals in the North State” that focuses on surgical care, Tate said.

Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.

To attract more surgeons to use the facility, hospital administrators modernized the three-story building and added "hundreds of thousands of dollars of top-of-the-line medical equipment,” Tate said.

The hospital brought back former staff and hired new employees. As of Oct. 19, it employed approximately 70 full-time and part-time staff, Patients' Hospital Administrator Justin Olds said.

Tate said he and his father, Dr. James Tate, planned to reopen Patients' Hospital by July 1, but they had to wait for “one small” lab permit from the state. “That finally came through on July 25,” Randy Tate said.

State inspections followed. The hospital opened its doors on Aug. 3.

“Everything’s officially active, a go,” Randy Tate said.

Little comforts make the difference for patients, families

On Sept. 29, Rhonda Jaegel of Redding sat in one of Patient’s Hospital’s rooms while her husband Tony had shoulder surgery. It was the second time in less than two years that Jaegel had to wait.

In 2022, her husband underwent a similar outpatient procedure on his other shoulder, but at a different medical facility.

While he received good care at the other facility, their experience at Patients’ Hospital was a bit different, Jaegel said. “We didn’t feel rushed out. The staff were absolutely wonderful... and made sure we had everything we needed. We were very happy with” his care, she said.

Little comforts made her waiting easier, as well as eased her husband’s recovery, said Jaegel, the Athletic Director at Sequoia Middle School. “It was nice to have a private room and they had snacks for me” a mini fridge, she said.

Patients' Hospital is a surgical facility, with no emergency room or intensive care unit.

The hospital currently accepts Medicare and Blue Cross insurances, and is in the process of contracting with Blue Shield. They also accept Health Net, Cigna insurance group and Workers Compensation. “We want to be able to serve everybody.” Randy Tate said.

Why one doctor won’t be doing surgery at Patients’ Hospital

Beds are filling up. “We have more than 10 surgeons on staff” right now. “That will definitely grow as we expand services,” Randy Tate said.

But one doctor's name isn’t on the list of those actively doing surgeries: The hospital’s official license holder and founder, neurosurgeon James Tate.

“My dad is semi-retired from surgery," Randy Tate said. The elder Tate still sees patients in Redding, but after doing surgery for 40 years," Randy Tate said his father "wanted to go out on top.”

The hospital closed in 2022 because his father wanted to take a break from doing surgeries, Randy Tate said in June.

James Tate voluntarily suspended the hospital’s license in May, 2022, according to the California Department of Public Health. That one-year suspension would have run out on May 31, 2023, the agency said.

But James Tate got an extension on the suspension while they prepared to reopen this summer, Randy Tate said. That gave the Tate family time to line up surgeons and to modernize and re-staff the hospital.

The hospital’s license was renewed through March 22, 2024, according to the state.

More: Is Patients' Hospital in Redding reopening?

James Tate opened Patients' Hospital in 1992 for people who needed non-emergency and elective procedures.

Patient recommendations for the hospital reached 96% on Healthgrades.com and 93% on womenschoiceaward.com. Consumer assessment surveys showed patients testified to the cleanliness, friendly staff and communicative doctors and nurses, with few reports of patient problems.

Randy Tate and the rest of the hospital's staff are still following James Tate's model, Olds said ― as well as his mantra: “Patient satisfaction is our utmost priority."

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Patients' Hospital reopens, with new surgeries and health insurances