Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Charts Pandemic Response Path for Local Hospitals

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

San Bernardino County, the largest county geographically in the contiguous United States and with a population that would make it the thirty-seventh largest state, operates an acute care hospital – Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) – a 456-bed hospital and with a trauma and regional burn center. Early in the pandemic, it became apparent that ARMC needed to assert itself as a leader of the coordination of the county’s hospital response. Communication with the area’s 17 acute care hospitals that serve both metro and desert areas would be critical in shaping the county response to this novel virus. Securing a liaison with acute care hospitals, development of key metrics, frequent meetings, coordination with the local hospital association and other County agencies as well as the California Department of Public Health were all key steps to ensure that no stone was left unturned in this battle. While the hospital network in the county was stretched beyond its limits and capacity, the close communication fostered from ARMC’s vision and leadership enabled the system to respond as best it could under these extraordinary circumstances.