Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Primary Stroke Center Certification
San Juan Regional Medical Center Receives Primary Stroke Center Certification
FARMINGTON, NM (November 27, 2012) – San Juan Regional Medical Center was recently named a Primary Stroke Center, after successfully completing its accreditation process through Det Norske Veritas (DNV), which also serves as the hospital’s accreditation agency. The DNV accreditation agency performed a major audit of the program, including specific indicators of stroke treatment competency.
Compliance was assessed through observations, interviews, and document review. Specifically, this included a review of actual and potential patient outcomes and processes; assessment of the care and services provided; review of patient care settings including inpatient units, outpatient facilities, emergency departments, imaging, and rehabilitation associated with the PSC; and review of records and other documentation necessary to validate information gained from observations and interviews.
“We have gone through numerous steps and changes to ensure that our stroke care is the best it can possibly be for our patients and the community. Our goals include early stroke detection, early intervention when possible, and optimizing our patients’ outcomes throughout their entire hospital stay and beyond,” said Erin Tinker, Stroke Coordinator and Clinical Educator of Critical Care. This highly coordinated and choreographed stroke identification and treatment process was established with the goal of achieving the best outcomes for stroke patients.
When a patient arrives at the emergency room, and is suspected of having a stroke, a “stroke alert” is called, which notifies all of the appropriate departments within the hospital that a probable case has been identified. This identification prioritizes the patients’ emergent needs so that intervention can happen as soon as possible.
Hospital personnel work to achieve a fast “door to interpretation” time, which starts from the onset of stroke symptoms to treatment. A stroke score is determined by specially-trained hospital staff, in addition to obtaining a CT scan. “From the onset of symptoms, our goal is to complete this process, and treat the patient within the recommended three and a half to four hours,” said Tinker.
An annual review and renewal process will be performed to maintain the certification. For more information about the Det Norske Veritas’s (DNV) Primary Stroke Center Certification, visit http://dnvaccreditation.com/pr/dnv/primary-stroke-center-certification.aspx.
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