OHSU receives advanced certification as Comprehensive Stroke Center from The Joint Commission

03/27/13 Portland, Ore.

Oregon Stroke Center is the only stroke center in the Northwest, and among only 27 in the nation, with the certification

The Oregon Stroke Center at Oregon Health & Science University’s Brain Institute has been recognized by The Joint Commission as being among a handful of elite providers of comprehensive stroke care in the nation.

The Joint Commission has announced that the Oregon Stroke Center has met the commission’s standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification. The Oregon Stroke Center is the first hospital in the Northwest, and one of only 27 hospitals in the nation, to have earned the certification.

This recognition confirms OHSU as a leader in stroke treatment and research, and demonstrates extensive capability beyond the standard set for Primary Stroke Certification. The Oregon Stroke Center has held the Primary Stroke Certification since 2007. Comprehensive Stroke Centers are responsible for setting the national agenda in highly specialized stroke care.

"By achieving this advanced certification, the Oregon Stroke Center at OHSU has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition,” says 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 the Oregon Stroke Center for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”

The Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification recognizes hospitals that have state-of-the-art infrastructure, staff and training to receive and treat patients with the most complex strokes. The Oregon Stroke Center underwent a rigorous onsite review February 5 and 6 of this year. Joint Commission experts reviewed the Oregon Stroke Center’s compliance with the Comprehensive Stroke Center standards and requirements, including advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialized treatments, a dedicated neurosciences intensive care unit and having staff with the unique education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients. The Joint Commission experts found that the Oregon Stroke Center had met or exceeded all required standards.

“We are very pleased that The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association have recognized that our work and expertise puts us among the leaders in the nation in stroke care,” said Wayne Clark, M.D., director of the Oregon Stroke Center at OHSU. “The recognition underlines our continued efforts to be on the cutting edge of scientific stroke research, and to provide each of our patients the highest quality stroke care available today.”

Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification was developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for Comprehensive Stroke Centers,” (Stroke, 2005), and “Metrics for Measuring Quality of Care in Comprehensive Stroke Centers,” (Stroke, 2011), and on recommendations from a multidisciplinary advisory panel of experts in complex stroke care.

As one of the highest-volume centers in the nation for treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage and ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, the Oregon Stroke Center treats more than 550 patients per year, and provides care for some of the most complex stroke cases in the region. The center’s diverse team of specialists includes board-certified neurologists, neurointerventionalists from the Dotter Interventional Institute, neurosurgeons and stroke nurses. The team provides advanced stroke treatment procedures 24 hours a day in conjunction with neurointensivists in the OHSU neurointensive care unit.

The Oregon Stroke Center is also part of OHSU’s cutting edge Telemedicine Network, which has treated more than 250 stroke patients since tele-stroke services were launched in April 2010. Telemedicine has allowed nearly half of these patients to receive treatment in their home community, saving almost $2 million in transport expenses alone.

About the OHSU Brain Institute

The Oregon Health & Science University Brain Institute is a national neuroscience leader in patient care, research and education. With more than 1,000 brain scientists and specialists, OHSU is home to one of the largest communities of brain and central nervous system experts in the nation. OHSU Brain Institute scientists have won national recognition for breaking new ground in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and for discoveries that have led to new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke and other brain disorders and diseases.

About The Joint Commission

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,600 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,600 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also certifies more than 2,400 disease-specific care programs such as stroke, heart failure, joint replacement and stroke rehabilitation, and 400 health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.