Mather Hospital certified as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center

Mather Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® and the American Heart/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check Mark for Advanced Primary Stroke Care Center certification.

Mather has been a Stroke Center since 2005. The new certification, approved by New York State, follows a recent survey in which The Joint Commission reviewed the hospital’s Stroke Center procedures from the time a patient is brought to the Emergency Department to discharge from the hospital, including critical care, imaging services, rehabilitation services, the special stroke care patient unit and other areas of the hospital.

“Our certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Care Center is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our stroke team and our commitment to treat stroke patients as quickly and efficiently as possible, with the highest quality of care,” said Mather Hospital Executive Director Kevin McGeachy.

“Advanced Primary Stroke Care Center certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, Chief Operating Officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and Chief Nursing Executive for the Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve health care by accrediting more than 22,000 U.S. healthcare organizations and programs.

Joanne Lauten, RN, Mather’s Director of Hospital Quality Performance Improvement and Stroke, said the surveyor also spoke to a stroke patient who gave the hospital high marks for his care. “It really left me with a feeling of, ‘We really are doing an amazing job here and our patients see it,’” Lauten said.

To maintain its certification, the hospital must meet 10 performance measures that touch on all areas of the organization and include how prepared the patient is to be discharged. “Our readmission rate is very low,” Lauten said. “When we send our patients home, they are very well equipped to be discharged.”

In addition, all providers on the stroke team need eight hours of continuing stroke education each year and be certified on how to score a patient on the level of stroke they experienced.

Mather Vice President Wayne Shattes said the Joint Commission surveyor said Mather Hospital “has probably the most robust data collection and performance improvement process of any stroke program I’ve ever seen, regardless of the size of the organization.”