Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City is one of only 15 nationwide medical centers to earn The Joint Commission's Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers
Oklahoma City, OK (PRWEB) January 31, 2013
What does this Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification mean to patients? It means Mercy has been recognized by the U.S. health care industrys most thorough standard-setting organization for having staff, equipment and processes that meet the highest levels of stroke prevention, detection, treatment and rehabilitation.
With stroke, everyone knows minutes matter. What people might not know or think about when stroke happens is where they should go for their best chances of recovery, said Dr. Richard Vertrees Smith, neurosurgeon and Mercy NeuroScience Institute medical director. Were hoping this certification gives us the opportunity to help people in Oklahoma understand that the nations highest quality stroke care is right here at home, at Mercy.
The process for earning this status started back in 2008, when Mercy earned its first stroke center accreditation from The Joint Commission the nations oldest and largest accrediting body in health care and didnt stop there. After a demanding application process, Mercy underwent a rigorous onsite review in October 2012, when Joint Commission experts surveyed compliance with standards including advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialized treatments and staff with the unique education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients.
Our stroke team has been devoted to this process for years, said Jim Gebhart, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City president. Theyve coordinated the efforts of hundreds of doctors, nurses, technicians and educators to develop one of the leading stroke programs in the United States.
Mercy joins Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, also in Los Angeles, and Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, in Stanford, Calif., on the elite list of 15 hospitals receiving this accreditation in the U.S.
"By achieving this advanced certification, Mercy has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition, said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Mercy for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.
For more information on The Joint Commission and American Heart Associations Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Center visit http://www.jointcommission.org/ or http://www.heart.org/myhospital.
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City is a 381-bed Magnet hospital where 2,800 co-workers provide services including Level-III neonatal intensive care, robotic surgery, cancer care, interventional radiology and clinical research. Mercy is the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and serves more than 3 million people annually. Mercy includes 31 hospitals, 300 outpatient facilities, 38,000 co-workers and 1,700 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. For more about Mercy, visit http://www.mercy.net.
Read more here:
Mercy Named One of Nation's First Fifteen Nationally Certified Stroke Centers