Huntington Memorial Hospital's stroke program receives Gold Seal of Approval

Huntington Memorial Hospital's stroke program has received the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, designating the hospital a primary stroke center. This means Huntington will join the network of "approved stroke center" hospitals throughout Los Angeles County.

"This is a significant milestone for the hospital, but more important, a wonderful benefit for Pasadena and its surrounding communities," said Arbi Ohanian, M.D., medical director of Huntington's stroke center. "Huntington's program is distinguished by its comprehensiveness. We offer multidisciplinary excellence in every aspect of stroke treatment and leading-edge technology that makes a huge difference when it comes to stroke diagnosis and care."

Ohanian is one of the country's few neurologists fellowship-trained in stroke care. He, along with a team of neurologists and neurosurgeons, collaborate with emergency department physicians and neuroradiologists to ensure best practice protocols are implemented throughout the course of care.

A 320 detector multi-modal CT scanner and interventional suites equipped with biplane angiography also set Huntington's program apart - as does its dedicated inpatient stroke unit. Patients presenting in the emergency department with acute stroke may receive a range of therapies including: intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a clot busting medication, or interventional device treatments such as the Penumbra and MERCI clot retrieval systems.

The goal of the County's stroke center hospital network is to ensure patients are taken to a facility that can provide a continuum of care - reducing transfers and valuable time-to-treatment. The fact that Huntington Hospital is now an approved stroke center means residents of the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys will not have to travel far to receive the highest quality of care.