Merit Health Natchez Awarded Advanced Certification for Acute Stroke Ready Hospital

2/5/2019

Certification Recognizes Hospital’s Commitment to Service of Stroke Patients

NATCHEZ, Miss. –February 5, 2019 – Merit Health Natchez is proud to announce it has earned Advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification for Acute Stroke Ready Hospital from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The certification recognizes hospitals equipped to treat stroke patients with timely, evidence-based care prior to transferring them to a Primary or Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Merit Health Natchez underwent a rigorous onsite review in December 2018 to assess its compliance with the Joint Commission’s Advanced Disease-Specific Care certification requirements, including:

• A dedicated stroke-focused program
• Staffing by qualified medical professionals trained in stroke care
• Collaboration with local emergency management agencies
• 24/7 ability to perform rapid diagnostic and laboratory testing
• Ability to administer intravenous clot-busting medications to eligible patients
• Availability of telemedicine technology

“Currently, nearly half of the population in the United States live 60 miles or more away from a Primary Stroke Center or Comprehensive Stroke Center,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, American Stroke Association. “If patients who experience an acute ischemic stroke can get treated with clot-busting medications quickly, more lives would be saved and more patients would have improved outcomes.”

“This new certification acts as important bridge and will be a key component in an evolving system of stroke care,” said Patrick Phelan, executive director, Hospital Business Development, The Joint Commission. “A Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association certified Acute Stroke Ready Hospital will be the foundation for acute stroke care in many communities, allowing it to be the first stop on a patient’s acute stroke journey.”

“We are delighted to receive this advanced stroke certification which acknowledges Merit Health Natchez’s readiness to evaluate, stabilize and provide life-saving emergency care to patients who come to us with acute stroke symptoms,” said Lance Boyd, CEO of Merit Health Natchez. “This certification demonstrates our commitment to providing a higher standard of service to stroke patients, while also addressing the gap in access to acute stroke services. Our Stroke Team, under the leadership of Tammy Cranford, Chief Quality Officer, Dr. Rick Ricalde, Neurologist, Brenda Vines, Stroke Team Coordinator and our Emergency Department staff and physicians, did a phenomenal job in preparing our hospital for this survey, and their efforts have equipped us to evaluate, stabilize and provide life-saving emergency care to patients who come to us with acute stroke symptoms.”

Tammy Cranford, Chief Quality Officer, credits Brenda Vines, Stroke Coordinator, as well as Arnie Perkins and Lynn Wooten, our Trauma/Chest Pain Coordinator and Trauma Registrar for their leadership. “This team began the certification process nearly two years ago and kept our team informed on all the appropriate and necessary steps and actions needed to have this successful certification,” said Cranford.

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. According to The Mississippi State Department of Health, Stroke is one of the top five causes of death in Mississippi, claiming about 1,500 Mississippians each year.

Dr. Rick Ricalde, Neurologist and Medical Director of our Stroke Program, is not surprised at these statistics. “A stroke is an attack on the brain, and the saying, time lost is brain lost, rings true. We hope this level of proven, evidence based competency and our ability to confirm a stroke diagnosis and start treatment with clot-busting medication in under an hour, will bring confidence and peace of mind to our community,” concluded Ricalde.

Established in 2015, Acute Stroke Ready Hospital Certification is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. The certification was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for Comprehensive Stroke Centers” (Stroke, 2005), “Metrics for Measuring Quality of Care in Comprehensive Stroke Centers” (Stroke, 2011) and recommendations from a multidisciplinary advisory panel of experts in complex stroke care.

The Joint Commission
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The familiar Heart-Check mark now helps consumers evaluate their choices in hospital care. Each mark given to a hospital is earned by meeting specific standards for the care of patients with heart disease and/or stroke. The Heart-Check mark can only be displayed by hospitals that have achieved and defined requirements set by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For more information on the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Hospital Accreditation Program visit www.heart.org/myhospital.

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