MUNSTER | Community Hospital has earned recertification as a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center, a designation that recognizes demonstrated expertise in treating patients who experience the most severe types of stroke. The recertification is in effect for two years.
“Being certified as a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center provides validation of the hard work and commitment to stroke care by our multidisciplinary stroke team,” said Community Hospital CEO Lou Molina.
The Joint Commission conducted a virtual survey of Community Hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Center in February. The surveyors noted the program’s growth and ability to provide the community with advanced stroke care.
“It is important that we align our care with evidence and best practices to adequately serve the needs of our population,” said Jill Conner, APRN, Community Healthcare System’s administrative director of Neuroscience, Cerebrovascular Services and Structural Heart.
Community Hospital is Northwest Indiana’s only accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center. The stroke teams are prepared to act within moments of a patient’s arrival for the most advanced neuro-interventional services. This higher level of care and management also allows Community Hospital to serve as the destination center for complex stroke patients, including those arriving from Northern Indiana’s Primary Stroke Centers.
As a certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, Community Hospital has demonstrated the ability to deliver advanced, high-quality care for patients by providing:
· 24/7 access to minimally invasive catheter procedures to treat stroke
· A dedicated Neuroscience Intensive Care unit
· On-site neurosurgical availability 24/7 with the ability to perform complex neuroendovascular procedures
· Treatment for large ischemic, hemorrhagic and other complex strokes
· Access to research through participation in national stroke trials
Procedures at the Comprehensive Stroke Center include mechanical thrombectomy (removal of a blood clot or thrombosis in the large vessels of the brain) for acute stroke; thrombolysis for acute stroke; diagnostic brain and spinal imaging (angiography); advanced surgery for aneurysms; craniotomy and removal of hematomas or blood clots in the brain.
The Comprehensive Stroke Center at Community Hospital is supported by the certified Primary Stroke Centers at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.
For more information about stroke care at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org/stroke.
