Vanguard

Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: News

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations certified the University of South Alabama Medical Center this past July to have a Primary Stroke Center certification after an on-site review of the center's procedures and facilities.
USA Medical Center is the first hospital in Mobile to have this certification. The certification confirms the center's ability to treat patients who suffer from stroke and that it has the correct components to do so.
There are 58 elemental requirements and 11 national patient safety goals to achieve the certification. Some of the requirements include written care protocols and emergency medical services. The stroke team at the USA Medical Center works with emergency medical services and regional emergency rooms to make sure stroke victims receive quick diagnoses and treatment to minimize the long-term consequences of a stroke.
"To achieve this certification, USA Medical Center organized a multidisciplinary stroke team of physicians, nurses and therapists to plan, implement, monitor and improve the care of patients from stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases," said Dr. Richard Zweifler, professor of neurology at the USA College of Medicine and medical director of the Stroke Center. "The Primary Stroke Center certification confirms to our community that we provide the highest level of care for patients with stroke."
For certification, the center also has to have a stroke unit, neurosurgical and lab services to provide treatment to stroke victims within two hours of the incident. The USA Medical Center has a team of three board-certified neurologists, one of which will always be made available to treat patients with stroke symptoms.
Hospitals with a primary stroke center are also required to have neuroimaging technology such as a computed tomography, or CAT, scanner or an MRI. The Medical Center has a new 16-slice CT scanner, which cuts the average CT exam time by 90 percent and produces clearer, three-dimensional pictures for better diagnoses.
Another aspect required for certification is outcome and quality improvements, which means the Medical Center need to monitor its outcomes and timelines on an ongoing basis to improve treatment when possible. The Medical Center must also provide educational programs to educate patients on stroke prevention and other aspects to protect themselves against the disease.
"Many of our patients did not know how important it was to get to the hospital immediately to receive treatment because they simply didn't know they were having a stroke," said Sharon Ezelle, case management and social services director at USA Medical Center. The primary goal of the USA Medical Center's Stroke Center is to provide quality care to stroke sufferers and survivors, as well as offer the material need to prevent and treat stroke symptoms.

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