Dr. Guillermo Valenzuela, M.D.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center’s (ARMC) Guillermo Valenzuela, M.D., chair of the Women’s Health Department, has earned the Hospital Association of Southern California’s (HASC) Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic efforts and decades of work to improve maternal care in the Inland Empire.
Dr. Valenzuela, born of humble beginnings in Santiago, Chile, has been instrumental in leading the hospital to several regional and national awards, including three consecutive years of earning the U.S. News & World Report Best Maternity Hospital High Performing designation, as well as many quality achievement awards for maternity care.
“Dr. Valenzuela’s contributions have significantly enhanced the quality of care provided by ARMC’s Women’s Health program,” said ARMC Chief Executive Officer Andrew Goldfrach, FACHE. “This national recognition reflects how our maternity care teams’ work leads to better health outcomes for countless families in our region.”
Dr. Valenzuela is also dedicated to philanthropy. In 2007, Dr. Valenzuela launched the Dream Project to assist at-risk youth at Colton High School. This motivational program provided low-income, academically challenged students with financial assistance, tutoring and other resources. Dr. Valenzuela founded the TECH Laptop Scholarship Program in 2008, which awarded 240 laptop computers to elementary school students for more than 12 years, reaching about 5,000 participants.
Additionally, in 2015, Dr. Valenzuela established the Guillermo J. Valenzuela Foundation to improve the health of underserved communities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, with specific priorities on improving women’s health and increasing the number of medical providers practicing in the Inland Empire.
He also launched the innovative Neighborly, Adaptable, Equitable Care for Black Obstetric Patients with Respect Clinic (NAEBOR) in 2022, in partnership with First 5 San Bernardino, to provide essential prenatal and perinatal health care to underserved African American women and their families. Now in its third year, the clinic seeks to reverse systemic issues that have left African American families suffering poor health outcomes during pregnancy and infancy.
Over his many years with ARMC, Dr. Valenzuela has directed research activities and participated in the education of ARMC’s resident physicians in addition to his responsibilities as chair of the Women’s Health Department. Dr. Valenzuela, known as “Dr. V” to friends and colleagues, is board-certified in maternal-fetal medicine, as well as obstetrics and gynecology. He has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He also is past president of the San Bernardino County Medical Society, and a winner of the 2021 Community Health Champion Award from the Time for Change Foundation.