ARMC Receives Award from the California Association of Public Hospitals

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) was recently awarded the prestigious Quality Leaders Award by the California Association of Public Hospitals (CAPH) and the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) in a new category of “Special Recognition COVID-19 Response.” The award recognizes the outstanding and exceptional contributions made by the Medical Center and this multidisciplinary Skilled Nursing Facility Task Force in responding to COVID-19.

Early on during the pandemic, nursing homes and long-term care facilities emerged as among those caring for the most vulnerable patients to the disease, while experiencing among the highest mortality rates. In response to this crisis ARMC proactively formed a multidisciplinary Skilled Nursing Facility Outreach and Support (SO+S) Team to provide targeted interventions to sites experiencing outbreaks.

Functioning as part of a Countywide Multi-Department Task Force, teams were deployed to nursing homes to provide information and assistance on personal protective equipment (PPE); training on donning and doffing; training on infection control procedures, and to help with operational needs.

In San Bernardino County, the largest county geographically in the contiguous United States, there are close to 200 Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), Congregate Living Facilities, and Intermediate Care facilities. ARMC along with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health and the Department of Behavioral Health, put together a highly skilled support team that fanned out across the County. The team created relationships with facility leaders that in turn created “lifelines” in their time of need.

To learn more from SO+S Team members, view the video: https://safetynetinstitute.org/about/quality-leaders-awards/2020-quality-leaders-awards-winners/#1607047383389-bf0e5f46-c1fd.

About California Association of Public Hospitals
CAPH is a non-profit trade organization representing California’s public health care systems. CAPH works to strengthen the capacity of its members to advance community health; ensure access to comprehensive, high-quality, culturally sensitive health care services for all Californians; and educate the next generation of health care professionals. The California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) is the quality improvement partner of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH). SNI designs and directs programs that accelerate the spread of innovative practices among California’s public hospitals, public clinics and beyond.

About Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is a 456-bed university-affiliated teaching hospital licensed by the State of California Department of Public Health, operated by the San Bernardino County, and governed by the Board of Supervisors. It is ARMC’s mission, in an environment of learning and innovation, to serve our diverse community with high-quality compassionate care. The hospital, located on a 70-acre campus in Colton, California, operates the Edward G. Hirschman burn center, a trauma center, comprehensive stroke center, a behavioral health center, and five family health centers. ARMC also provides more than 40 outpatient specialty care services. ARMC is helping to achieve the Countywide Vision by addressing the community’s wellness and educational needs. ARMC is the primary teaching hospital for the California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM). The University welcomed its first class of students in 2018. The School of Medicine is an allopathic (M.D.) school, and is the first new, privately funded, not-for-profit medical school to earn accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) since 1949. For more information on CUSM, visit https://www.cusm.org/. For more information about ARMC, visit www.arrowheadregional.org. Follow ARMC on Twitter at @ArrowheadRMC for important announcements and updates, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arrowheadregional.