The Trauma Center at the County’s Arrowhead Regional Medical Center has officially been verified as a Level I Adult Trauma Center by the Committee on Trauma (COT), a standing committee of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), making ARMC one of only two verified Level I trauma centers in San Bernardino County.

The verification is the highest level of verification for trauma services in the nation and was granted following a site visit from the ACS in July 2022. The verification will extend through July 2025. This verification signifies ARMC’s commitment to providing optimal care for injured patients and recognizes the hospital’s achievement in treating injured patients across the care continuum from pre-hospital through rehabilitation.

Nationally, there are three levels of trauma verifications ranging from Level I (most advanced) to Level III for both adult and pediatric trauma services. A trauma center’s verification level is dependent upon the COT’s on-site review confirming that the hospital has voluntarily met criteria that improve the standard of care as outlined by the most recent COT Resources for Optimal Care of the Insured Patient manual.

Trauma injuries are a leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 1 and 44, and millions are injured and disabled (temporarily and permanently) each year. ARMC is committed to providing exceptional health care and education through its Trauma Center to decrease the number of trauma-related injuries and deaths. The ARMC Trauma Center is one of the busiest in the region for adult trauma care.

In addition to providing exemplary care for the hospital’s most seriously injured patients, the center has established numerous Trauma Prevention programs that provide public education and outreach on healthy behaviors and prevention, and injury intervention strategies. ARMC’s programs include the Older Adult Drivers Program, Youth Violence Prevention, “Every 15 Minutes” youth safe driving education, Car Seat and Transportation Safety, Safe Kids, Drowning Prevention, Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, Heatstroke Awareness and Prevention, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) awareness.