The Miriam Hospital’s Stroke Center Earns “Gold Seal” from Joint Commission

Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Only hospital in the state to earn four consecutive Joint Commission stroke accreditations  

The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers has once again awarded its elite Gold Seal of Approval™ to The Miriam Hospital. The certification, a national honor reserved for the country’s top stroke programs, recognizes The Miriam’s commitment to the highest level of care for its stroke patients. The state’s first certified Primary Stroke Center, The Miriam Hospital is the only hospital in Rhode Island to be accredited four times by the Joint Commission for stroke care.

The recertification comes after a rigorous, announced on-site review in July 2012. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated The Miriam Hospital for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

“We voluntarily pursued this independent evaluation to enhance the safety and quality of the care we provide, and we’re proud to be accredited a fourth straight time,” said William Corwin, MD, senior vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer at The Miriam Hospital.  “This honor reflects the expertise of our stroke team, who work tirelessly and collaboratively every single day to deliver timely, efficient stroke treatment that helps improve outcomes for our stroke patients.”

The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities.

This is The Miriam Hospital’s second stroke honor in recent months. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association also awarded the hospital with its Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes The Miriam Hospital’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

The Miriam Hospital’s acute stroke team is available around-the-clock for stroke emergencies as part of the hospital’s comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes brain imaging scans, patient evaluations conducted by a staff neurologist, and the use of clot-busting medications when appropriate. The Stroke Center also offers the latest minimally invasive treatment options for acute stroke patients, including clot-retrieval and removal devices such the Merci Retrieval device, Penumbra system, Solitaire Flow Restoration Device and the EKOS NeuroWave Catheter. More than 600 stroke patients are treated at The Miriam Hospital each year.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. 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.

Read more about The Stroke Center at The Miriam Hospital.

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