Alexian Brothers Medical Center Awarded Advanced Certification For Comprehensive Stroke Centers

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village, part of the Alexian Brothers Health System has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification, which means Alexian Brothers Medical Center joins an elite group of providers focused on complex stroke care. Complex Stroke Centers are recognized as industry leaders and are responsible for setting the national agenda in highly-specialized stroke care.

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. Alexian Brothers Medical Center underwent a rigorous onsite review by Joint Commission experts who reviewed Alexian Brothers Medical Center'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.

"The Comprehensive Stroke Center certification demonstrates Alexian Brothers Health System's commitment to focusing on the care processes that produce the best outcomes for complex stroke patients," said Wende Fedder Administrative Director of the Alexian Brothers Neuroscience Institute. "Stroke patients who are treated at Alexian Brothers Medical Center can be assured that the hospital has put in place the critical elements necessary to treat critically ill stroke patients."

"By achieving this advanced certification, Alexian Brothers 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 Alexian Brothers Medical Center for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves."

For Alexian Brothers Medical Center, achieving Comprehensive Stroke Center certification is the culmination of a 10-year journey to develop an integrated neuroscience center, one of the first of its kind in Illinois. The hospital's Stroke Center includes specialists in the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, neuro-interventional radiology, nursing, rehabilitation, emergency medicine, social work, pharmacy and nutrition, all using a coordinated approach to caring for complex stroke patients. Recognized as a regional leader in neuroscience and stroke treatment, prevention and research, the Neurosciences Institute at Alexian Brothers Medical Center was among the first in the state to receive Primary Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in 2005, and now only the second hospital in Illinois to receive Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification status.

Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification was developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and derived from the Brain Attack Coalition's "Recommendations for Comprehensive Stroke Centers," (Stroke, 2005), and "Metrics for Measuring Quality of Care in Comprehensive Stroke Centers," (Stroke, 2011), and on recommendations from a multidisciplinary advisory panel of experts in complex stroke care.  

"The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association congratulates Alexian Brothers Medical Center on its Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification," commented Mark J. Alberts, M.D., FAHA, American Heart Association/American Stroke Association spokesperson and Vice-Chair of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Comprehensive Stroke Centers offer a high level of care for patients with the most severe and challenging types of strokes and cerebrovascular disease." 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.

About Alexian Brothers Health System:
Ranked among the nation's best-performing health systems, the Alexian Brothers Health System (ABHS), part of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, is comprised of four hospitals and a center for mental health; immediate care centers, diagnostic imaging facilities, occupational health centers and a physician practice group that serves more than two million people every year in Chicago's suburbs. ABHS also has an enduring commitment to identifying and developing an effective response to the unique health and housing needs of older adults through a dynamic senior ministries program that operates an array of residential, retirement and community resources in Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. For more information visit: www.alexianbrothershealth.org.

About 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 evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,600 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,600 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission also certifies more than 2,400 disease-specific care programs such as stroke, heart failure, joint replacement and stroke rehabilitation, and 400 health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit 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.

About the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association:
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 3 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 association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit www.heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

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/myhospitals.

SOURCE Alexian Brothers Health System