Evergreen Healthcare has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. The distinction has been awarded to only 10 percent of hospitals nationwide.
“Evergreen Healthcare demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission.
Each year about 700,000 people nationwide experience a new or recurrent stroke. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
“The Joint Commission’s seal of approval means that our program meets the highest standards based on strict criteria and the ability to provide cutting edge treatment for a disease that a few years ago we couldn’t do much for,” Dr. David Likosky, Director of the Evergreen Stroke Program, said. “Now the field is rapidly developing and we are able to treat, and have exceptionally positive outcomes for patients who would have become very disabled or possibly even died.”
A primary stroke center creates a partnership between various departments throughout the hospital including the emergency department, diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, neurologists, neurosurgeons, hospitalists, nursing care, and rehab. Working together, these departments expedite treatment for stroke patients.
“The saying is time is brain,” Dr. Likosky said. “The primary stroke program allows us to provide the best possible patient care and achieve the best outcomes by getting labs, imaging, and interventional treatment very quickly.”
To achieve accreditation, the program was evaluated for having proper processes in place and also on the outcomes of patients who received stroke care. Evergreen started on the path to accreditation in 2006 when an anonymous donor gave funds to start the stroke program.
“Pieces of the program have been in place for years,” Meg Briggs, Stroke Program Coordinator said. “Now there is an overarching cohesive process to bring everything together.”
The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements/guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program—the nation’s first—in 2003. A list of programs certified by the Joint Commission is available at www.jointcommission.org.