Porter Adventist Hospital receives certification as Advanced Primary Stroke Center

Porter Adventist Hospital has received certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The Certificate of Distinction, received in December after an on-site review in the fall, recognizes the exceptional efforts the Porter Stroke Program has made with a cohesive, multidisciplinary approach to foster better outcomes for stroke patients.

"This Gold Seal of Approval ™ recognition is a reflection of Porter's commitment to provide the highest level of treatment for stroke patients," said Randy Haffner, CEO of Porter Adventist Hospital. "We are extremely proud of achieving this designation."

Porter developed a stroke alert program, in partnership with pre-hospital emergency services personnel, and began working toward certification in the summer of 2008, joining the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program of the Colorado Stroke Alliance. The hospital then underwent an extensive on-site review conducted by reviewers with expertise in stroke care. The certification decision was based on the evaluation of standards, clinical practice guidelines and performance measurement activities.

The Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification Program is based on the Recommendations for Primary Stroke Centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and American Stroke Association guidelines. Certified Primary Stroke Centers are held to high standards in the areas of quality, safety and patient care outcomes. Certified centers must also collect and report on eight National Inpatient Hospital Quality Measures for stroke. Porter's Stroke Program also is an American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines participating hospital, and has received the Bronze Performance Achievement Award from the AHA/ASA.

Each year about 700,000 Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation's third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke about every 3 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.