FTMC Certified as Primary Stroke Center
11/28/2007 Fisher-Titus Medical Center’s Stroke Care Program Awarded Certification from the Joint Commission
11/28/2007-Norwalk-Fisher-Titus Medical Center has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. Fisher-Titus earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review in November.
“Fisher-Titus Medical Center demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” said Jean E. Range, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission.
Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation’s third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
“We’re proud to achieve this distinction and to be the first in our area to become a certified primary stroke center,” said FTMC President Patrick J. Martin. “From rapid emergency response to stroke patients in the Emergency Department through Rehabilitation, the physicians and employees at Fisher-Titus provide a continuum of care unparalleled in our area. For residents, this means that the best, accredited care is close to home—an important fact when you consider that when it comes to ‘brain attacks,’ minutes matter.”
The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements/guidelines for stroke care.
FTMC’s highly skilled stroke team includes physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, rehabilitation specialists, case managers, quality managers and education coordinators.
“FTMC’s multidisciplinary stroke team is specially trained for stroke patients,” said Dr. Brendan W. Bauer, FTMC’s stroke team leader and a neurologist with Advanced Neurologic Associates. “The entire team pulled together for the certification and continues to treat stroke patients with a comprehensive program that provides outstanding care.”
The team began in December 2005. Since that time, Fisher-Titus has been able to provide radiologists and neurologists the ability to read CT scans during all hours from home through picture archiving and communication system (PACS).
“This provides rapid response specialized treatment for our community for emergencies like stroke,” said Kristi Washburn, FTMC’s director of quality and case management. “Specialized stroke training was initiated throughout the hospital for employees. Radiologist technicians were trained in performing CT scans of the brain so that they can be performed at any time day or night. A rapid response team was developed to respond quickly to patients with stroke symptoms so they can be evaluated and treated with the most current medical treatment.”
“At FTMC, the team also has focused on community education about signs and symptoms of stroke, treating stroke symptoms as a medical emergency and the importance of calling 911. Our goal at Fisher-Titus is to provide our community with advanced medical treatment and an understanding that stroke symptoms are a medical emergency. FTMC’s stroke team is proud to offer our community this excellence in stroke care.”
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more then 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services.
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