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Primary Stroke Centers: Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center |
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October 9, 2012,
Volume 59, No. 07 |
Two Penn Medicine hospitals have received Primary Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission for efforts to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients. All three Penn Medicine hospitals are now certified to optimally treat stroke patients: Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Presbyterian Medical Centereach received Primary Stroke Center certifications this summer and joined the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), which has been certified as a Primary Stroke Center since 2004 (Almanac September 28, 2004). Penn Medicine is the first Philadelphia health system to get certification for stroke care at all member hospitals.
A recent Penn Medicine study led by Dr. Michael Mullen, assistant professor of neurology and vascular medicine, presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting, showed, that the emergence of primary stroke centers certified by The Joint Commission has steadily improved the treatment of stroke patients. In Philadelphia, ambulances started bringing stroke patients exclusively to designated primary or comprehensive stroke centers in October 2011, rather than the closest hospital.
Penn Medicine extends stroke care to patients outside Philadelphia through the Penn NeuroRescue program, using telemedicine systems to bring expert consultations 24/7 to hospitals in distant locales, and transferring those who need surgery and/or specialized neurointensive critical care to HUP.
Developed in 2003, The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification program is based on the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers.”
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Almanac -
October 9, 2012, Volume 59, No. 07
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