Silver Cross Hospital has once again earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.
Silver Cross underwent a rigorous onsite review in June 2017. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement. Established in 2003, Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute care hospitals. The certification was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (JAMA, 2000) and the “Revised and Updated Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (Stroke, 2011).
“By achieving this advanced certification, Silver Cross has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and CEO, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Silver Cross for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”
“The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association congratulates Silver Cross on achieving Comprehensive Stroke Center certification,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “Meeting the standards for Comprehensive Stroke Center certification represents a commitment to deliver high quality care to all patients affected by stroke.”
“We are pleased to receive advanced certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association,” said Paul Pawlak, President and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital. “The Silver Cross Neuroscience Institute is dedicated to preventing strokes, and this certifications provides us with the framework to create a culture of excellence, and to continually strive to advance our care even further.”
Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
“Our goal is to make sure that every patient receives the right treatment at the right time,” says Dr. Kathleen McCahill, Medical Director of the Silver Cross Stroke Program. “The concepts behind Primary Stroke Centers include a heightened state of readiness for stroke patients, making sure hospital-wide mechanisms are in place to rapidly identify and intervene in acute stroke, and a multi-disciplinary team who can deliver rapid and sophisticated care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
Silver Cross is one of the few hospitals in the area offering advanced technologies to extend the treatment window for stroke up to 8 hours. Neuro interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons are available to treat strokes in the hospital’s state-of-the-art biplane angiography suite.
“This advanced technology allows for an even greater level of safety for patients by cutting the normal procedure length and radiation exposure in half,” says Dr. Harish Shownkeen, Medical Director of the Neuro Interventional Program at Silver Cross. “And, patients don’t need to go anywhere else to recover.”
Silver Cross Hospital’s partnership with The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) ensures patients will receive an unmatched recovery experience close to home. RIC has been ranked the “Best Rehabilitation Hospital in America” by U.S. News and World Report every year since 1991. Patients benefit from RIC at Silver Cross’ inpatient rehabilitation unit as well as four outpatient facilities—at the hospital, Homer Glen, New Lenox (Route 30) and West Joliet. To learn more about the Silver Cross Stroke Program, visit www.silvercross.org/neuro.