John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek Medical Center, Walnut Creek, USA, has been awarded Comprehensive Stroke Certification Accreditation by The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies healthcare organisations and programmes in the USA. This certification means that the Walnut Creek Medical Center is ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year to deliver advanced stroke care.
It is the highest level of stroke certification, earned by demonstrating the significant resources, staff and training that are necessary for the treatment of the most complex stroke cases, including interventional procedures for acute strokes and haemorrhages.
With this certification, the Walnut Creek Medical Center joins an elite group of 130 Comprehensive Stroke Certified hospitals in the nation, and just 17 in the state of California. To be eligible, hospitals must demonstrate compliance with stroke-related standards as a Primary Stroke Center and meet additional requirements, including advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialised treatments, and qualified staff with the special education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients.
“This achievement is a result of four years of dedication and teamwork from our neurosciences specialists, medical staff, nurses, ancillary services providers and administrators who worked together to achieve this impressive designation,” says Patty Haggen, Executive Director, Neurosciences at John Muir Health. “While this is a significant achievement for John Muir Health, it is our patients and the communities we serve who benefit the most from having this level of stroke care available close to home.”
Established in 2003, Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centres is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute care hospitals. This designation recognises John Muir Health’s strong commitment to performance improvement, evidence-based care, and staff and patient education where the level of stroke care is evident in patient outcomes. John Muir Health’s Concord Medical Center also serves the community as a Primary Stroke Center.
“The neuroscience team at John Muir Health is honoured to receive Comprehensive Stroke Certification Accreditation, which has been earned by less than 1% of community hospitals nationwide,” says Ray Stephens, Stroke Medical Director and neurologist at John Muir Health. “We are the only medical centre in Contra Costa County that can provide emergent blood clot extraction procedures that have been shown to improve stroke outcomes in the most serious strokes. It has been especially gratifying for me to see patients who were previously untreatable now returning to their normal lives after stroke intervention and rehabilitation.”
