DENVER, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Swedish Medical Center has been named the first and only Comprehensive Stroke Center in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region by the Joint Commission, the prestigious national medical accreditation organization. This new level of certification recognizes the advanced technology, staff and training that comprehensive stroke centers must have to provide state-of-the-art complex stroke care.
"Colorado takes great pride in recognizing Swedish Hospital's status as a Comprehensive Stroke Center," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "Efforts like these go a long way to giving Coloradans the best possible medical treatment and to making our state the healthiest in the country."
The certification underscores the hospital's long-standing commitment to health and wellness for citizens across the state, and throughout the region.
"Our new designation acknowledges the exemplary care we have provided to patients in Colorado and the region for years," said Chris Fanale, M.D., Stroke Medical Director at Swedish Medical Center. "This is a true example of collaboration and innovation. We have the most outstanding team and technology this region has to offer."
The 14th hospital in the country to achieve this certification, Swedish Medical Center was awarded this high-performance credential by the Joint Commission for its advanced integrative stroke team and outstanding patient outcomes. Simply stated, Swedish treats more strokes faster than anyone in the region.
"Our quality metrics at Swedish Medical Center have exceeded national benchmarks and consistently outperformed other area stroke programs," said Mary M. White, President and CEO of Swedish Medical Center.
By the numbers, Swedish offers some very impressive statistics: Incoming stroke patients have a neurologist at their bedside in an average 4.8 minutes, compared to the national target of 20 minutes. Patients receive vital CT imaging within 14.6 minutes on average compared to the national goal of 25 minutes, and medically appropriate patients will receive IV t-PA within 40.8 minutes against the national goal of 60 minutes. The national average of ischemic stroke patients treated with IV t-PA is 5%, while Swedish treats 26%.
"Swedish was a pioneer in developing and providing comprehensive care through our stroke telemedicine program," White added. "This innovation in healthcare has allowed us to provide exceptional care for the stroke patients in our community as well as throughout the 31 stroke telemedicine partner hospitals across the Rocky Mountain Region. Our certification is a result of the dedication and hard work of many who collaborate to offer this award-winning care."
The Joint Commission recently developed the criteria for designating Disease-Specific Care Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers in collaboration with the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The requirements are rigorous, officials say, and require additional technology, resources and expertise in comparison to other Primary Stroke Centers. This ranks Swedish Medical Center among the most well-known academic institutions across the country, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Stanford Hospital, Stanford, CA; Ronald Reagan UCLA, Los Angeles, CA; Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC.
"The Swedish neurosciences community is proud to have achieved designation as the first Comprehensive Stroke Center in Colorado," said J. Paul Elliott, M.D., Neurosurgeon at Swedish Medical Center. "It reflects the long-standing commitment of Swedish nurses, physicians and administration to the provision of extraordinary care for our patients with complex neurological illness."
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Swedish Medical Center Named Comprehensive Stroke Center by Joint Commission