Regional Hospital Awarded Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers
8/2/2015
SCRANTON, Pa. (Aug. 3, 2015) – Commonwealth Health Regional Hospital of Scranton announced that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers.
Regional Hospital underwent a rigorous onsite review. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement.
“Regional Hospital’s designation as a Primary Stroke Center is consistent with its reputation as the provider of choice for complex and minimally invasive health care in our community,” Brooks Turkel, CEO of Regional, said. “The process to become a recognized stroke center took a tremendous amount of collaboration between many of our physicians, nurses, other staff and our colleagues at Commonwealth Health Emergency Medical Service and Penn State Hershey Neuroscience Institute.
“Together they have instituted evidence-based practices to save lives and improve the quality of life for those individuals who suffer a stroke in our community.”
“Regional Hospital has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of stroke patients through its Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers,” Wendi J. Roberts, RN, executive director, Certification Programs, said. “We commend Regional Hospital for becoming a leader in stroke care, potentially providing a higher standard of service for stroke patients in its community.”
Established in 2003, Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute care hospitals. The certification was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (JAMA, 2000) and the “Revised and Updated Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (Stroke, 2011).
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
