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| Media Contacts Mary Jo Wich Lois Kendall 314-525-4005 |
Release Date: 9/25/2008
Advanced Primary Stroke Center Recertified by JCAHO
St. Anthony’s Medical Center has been recertified as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
St. Anthony’s is one of only three hospitals in the St. Louis area and the only community hospital to receive this designation. This means St. Anthony’s, which received its first primary stroke center designation in 2006, has treatment protocols based on nationally recognized standards of care in place to effectively diagnose and treat stroke patients to assure maximum recovery possible. In 2007, St. Anthony’s treated more than 800 stroke patients, or more than 40 percent of the patients in St. Louis and outlying areas with neurological diagnoses.
“Our outcomes for treatment meet or exceed national standards for safety and efficacy that centers hope to attain nationally, and our mortality is less than the national average,” said Linda Hill, coordinator of St. Anthony’s stroke team. “We have a lot to be proud of, but we never want to rest on our laurels: we always want to focus on how we can provide better care for our patients.”
To receive recertification by the Joint Commission, St. Anthony’s stroke team passed a rigorous survey process, showed data collection and reported to a national database. Also evaluated was the speed with which the stroke team treats patients appropriate for tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), a treatment that helps to reverse the effects of a stroke if it is used within three hours of the symptoms.
Because time is extremely important when treating potential stroke patients, the stroke team meets the patient at bedside to assure rapid and thorough assessment and treatment of this vascular disease. After seeking to stabilize the patient’s condition and reverse the stroke process if possible, the team conducts diagnostic tests to determine the cause of the stroke and how to prevent further problems. The final step is helping patients to recover, using a variety of therapies. The stroke team includes board-certified neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional radiologists and physiatrists, as well as stroke-specialty nurses.
“Data show patients who receive care at a certified stroke facility have lower mortality rates and better outcomes in general,” Hill said. “As a certified Stroke Center, St. Anthony’s is fully qualified to offer the best treatment available to stroke patients and is committed to providing this top level of service to our community.”
A new state law, which went into effect Aug. 28, requires paramedics to transport acute stroke and certain heart patients directly to a designated center of care as their first stop, not just the closest facility. Community residents can take comfort in knowing that St. Anthony’s is a certified center of care for BOTH stroke and heart attack.
For information, please call our Health Access Line at 314-ANTHONY (268-4669) or 800-554-9550 or visit our find a physician online.
At St. Anthony's, our vision is to be the area's premier health care organization — and your first choice for health care services.