Tulane Medical receives advanced certification for comprehensive stroke center

Tulane Medical Center is the first hospital in Orleans Parish to earn Comprehensive Stroke Center accreditation. Tulane’s Stroke Program has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) as meeting The Joint Commission’s standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification.

Tulane’s Stroke Program has been recognized as an elite group of providers focused on complex stroke care who are recognized as health care leaders and are responsible for setting the national agenda in highly-specialized stroke care. When a stroke strikes, residents of the Greater New Orleans area can rely on receiving unparalleled care close to home.

"By achieving this advanced certification, Tulane Medical Center 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, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Tulane Medical Center for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”

Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification recognizes those hospitals that have state-of-the-art infrastructure, staff and training to receive and treat patients with the most complex strokes. Tulane Medical Center underwent a rigorous onsite review. Joint Commission experts reviewed Tulane’s compliance with the Comprehensive Stroke Center standards and requirements including advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialized treatments, and staff with the unique education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and this certification demonstrates Tulane Medical Center’s commitment to providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said Sheryl Martin-Schild, M.D., PhD, Vascular Neurologist and Medical Director of the Tulane Stroke Program. “In fact, Tulane’s Stroke Program provides the highest sustained treatment rate with the clot busting medication for ischemic stroke (non-bleeding kind) in the state of Louisiana, and we are able to administer this treatment quickly due to effective and efficient teamwork.”

According to the AHA/ASA, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. 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.

For more information on The Joint Commission and American Heart Association’s Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Center visit http://www.jointcommission.org/ or www.heart.org/myhospital.