ARMC Listed as “Birthing-Friendly” Hospital

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) was recently listed as a “Birthing-Friendly” hospital for its commitment to providing evidence-based, high-quality maternity care to women and their families in the Inland Empire. The list is part of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Maternity Care Action Plan.

Sheryl Wooldridge, MSN, RN, Clinical Director II at ARMC, shared, “Our Maternal-Child department is committed to providing expectant mothers and their babies with the best care. For this reason, we are honored to be recognized as a Birthing-Friendly hospital.

“Studies show that 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, and African American, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are three times more likely to die compared to Caucasian women. A contributing factor is lack of access to timely, quality health care. This initiative puts ARMC in a position to help close the gap on these ethnic disparities within the San Bernardino County communities.”

To earn the “Birthing-Friendly” designation, ARMC reports its progress on maternal morbidity to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program. The measure identifies whether the hospital has participated in the Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative Program and whether it has implemented evidence-based quality interventions in hospital settings to improve maternal health.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is a 456-bed university-affiliated teaching hospital licensed by the State of California Department of Public Health, operated by 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 level I trauma center, a comprehensive stroke center, a behavioral health center, and five primary care 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. For more information on CUSM, visit https://cusm.edu/. For more information about ARMC, visit https://www.arrowheadregional.org.