Banner Good Samaritan’s Stroke Care program awarded certification from The Joint Commission

That effort, and the teamwork of several stroke specialists, earned Banner Good Samaritan a national certification by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center.

In announcing this certification, The Joint Commission praised Banner Good Samaritan’s team, led by Stroke Center Medical Director Jeremy Payne, MD, PhD, and Kris Boivin, director of the Banner Good Samaritan Neuroscience Clinics, for the speed and efficiency in getting the program up-and-running.

“They were quite amazed at how quickly our processes and protocols were put in place and accepted by the entire hospital,” Dr. Payne said. “While some hospitals can take years for stroke protocols to gain acceptance, we were able to put the stroke program together and show that it works in just seven months.”

According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in the United States, and the No. 1 cause of adult disability with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today. Each year about 780,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes.

The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements/guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program in 2003. A list of programs certified by the Joint Commission is available at www.jointcommission.org.

“The main thrust behind the Primary Stroke Center program is how we treat patients who just had a stroke,” Dr. Payne said. “The process is very organized so that the care team knows what to do, and knows how to do it quickly and efficiently. It is designed to make sure that all of those little details that add up in taking care of stroke patients happen according to plan; that every patient gets the maximum state-of-the-art care.

“What we know about the Primary Stroke Center program is that it works: people who have had a stroke do better when they receive treatment at a Primary Stroke Center,” he added. “Our efforts involve everything from making sure that stroke patients who qualify for treatments like the clot-buster medication tPA or advanced catheter-based therapies get them in a safe way; making sure that things like the patient’s ability to swallow are addressed; making sure they receive world-class therapy in the hospital and after they are discharged; and we look hard to figure out why they had a stroke and do our best to prevent this from happening again.”

Banner Good Samaritan is the second Banner Health facility to earn Primary Stroke Center certification, joining Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., and the eighth program in Arizona to receive this designation.

“We’re proud to achieve the distinction and we congratulate the Stroke Center team for their efforts in achieving this designation and for the team’s contributions in improving stroke care for our patients,” said Larry Volkmar, Banner Good Samaritan CEO. “The Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes our commitment to making a difference in people’s lives through excellent patient care.”

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center (www.bannerhealth.com/goodsam) has been providing medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. Banner Good Samaritan is owned and operated by Phoenix-based Banner Health, a nonprofit organization. The hospital was named to the 2009-’10 U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” list for Gynecology, Heart & Heart Surgery and Kidney Disorders. Banner Good Samaritan has been recognized as a Magnet™ facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the highest honor a hospital can earn for its nursing care and practices, and has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the Valley by The Phoenix Business Journal and BestCompaniesAZ in 2007 and 2008 and one of the “Top 100 Hospitals to Work For” by Nursing Professionals magazine.

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery networks, and other managed care entities. In addition, the Joint Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and 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.

###

Contact:
Banner Good Samaritan Public Relations
Phone: (602) 839-4411
Media Pager: (602) 250-0383
Twitter: @bannergoodsam
Facebook: Become a fan!