EvergreenHealth’s stroke care program recently achieved recertification from The Joint Commission as an accredited “Advanced Primary Stroke Center,” for the ninth consecutive year. Developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), this distinguished national honor is given to stroke care programs that provide the highest level of preeminent, specialty care and services to patients in their region. EvergreenHealth is located in Kirkland and also serves the Northshore area.
EvergreenHealth’s recertification is based on the results of a stringent onsite survey, in which a representative from The Joint Commission found no issues or critical recommendations for improvements to the health system’s stroke care programming and services. The health system first became a certified Advanced Primary Stroke Center through The Joint Commission in 2007.
“When a stroke patient enters our doors, countless departments at EvergreenHealth work in concert to provide crucial, time sensitive treatment that can prevent or reverse damage from a stroke ,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “This recognition by The Joint Commission is a well-deserved testament to that indispensable work.”
According to the criteria, hospitals achieving the “Advanced Primary Stroke Center” accreditation meet a number of high-level measurements and demonstrate compliance with the commission’s standards for provider certification, and the stroke care clinical practice guidelines of AHA/ASA. EvergeenHealth also met a number of other quality clinical certification measures, including continuous patient monitoring protocols, regular performance data measurement and analysis, and annual stroke education for providers within the stroke care team and across the health system, as well as the general public.
“This was our most rigorous survey yet—and we couldn’t be prouder of the results,” said David Likosky, MD, director, Stroke and Neurohospitalist programs at EvergreenHealth. “The work of providing evidenced-based care for our patients never ceases, and we continuously implement feedback and insights provided by The Joint Commission to maintain our program’s stringent standards.”
This certification for excellence in stroke care comes on the heels of EvergreenHealth receiving the HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence Award for the eighth year in a row in 2016. HealthGrades also recognized EvergreenHealth’s stroke program among the top 100 in the nation and the best in Washington state for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, EvergreenHealth has received the Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for exceeding outcome goals set by the American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.
The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. For more information about The Joint Commission and their stroke care certification process, visit www.jointcommission.org/.
To learn more about EvergreenHealth’s stroke care and services, visit www.evergreenhealth.com/stroke. For more information about EvergreenHealth’s commitment to quality and safety and exceptional care, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.
