By demonstrating excellence in quality, Sentara Norfolk General Hospitals Stroke Program has earned a Gold Seal of Approval and has achieved Disease Specific Care (DSC) Certification from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is the first and currently the only hospital in Virginia to meet the stringent criteria for certification.
JCAHO defines the designation as a certificate of distinction that recognizes primary stroke centers that have made exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care. Specific criteria were developed in conjunction with the American Stroke Association.
"This is an important milestone for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital," says Bruce Holstien, Administrator of SNGH. "We voluntarily pursued this comprehensive, independent evaluation to further enhance the safety and quality of care we provide. The Gold Seal of Approval demonstrates to the Hampton Roads community our commitment to continuous quality improvement and to meeting the unique and specialized needs of stroke patients."
According to JCAHO, DCS Certification follows a thorough, efficient and educational review process by evaluators. It demonstrates that a facility: is patient-centered; employs performance measures to promote continuous improvement in health status; encourages interaction and communication among the provider team; requires the use of nationally recognized guidelines; and evaluates its care delivery sites to help put quality where it counts. Reviewers from the Joint Commission evaluated Sentara Norfolk General Hospitals Stroke Program to assess its compliance with the Commissions state-of-the-art national standards and performance measurement expectations for the management of chronic care illnesses.
"Stroke care is a team effort and this designation reflects hard work at many levels," says Sentara neurologist Armistead Williams, M.D. "The reviewer followed the course of a typical patient asking probing questions from emergency room nurses and staff and checked how fast we got CT scans done and read. She also looked at details of treatment on the inpatient acute and rehabilitation units, interviewed physicians doing cutting edge work with carotid artery occlusion and cerebral aneurysm and went into the radiology suites to see our high resolution CT angiography. This designation is not just a pat on the back though. It commits us to measuring ourselves against the best centers in the country, and using this data to change and improve."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, stroke is the nations number 3 cause of death and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. Every 45 seconds someone in America has a stroke. About 700,000 Americans will suffer a stroke this year and 168,000 of them will die.
"Joint Commission Disease Specific Care Certification assures consumers and purchasers that Sentara Norfolk General Hospitals Stroke Program is committed to quality and safety excellence," says Maureen Connors Potter, executive director, Disease Specific Care Certification Program, Joint Commission. "It is the Gold Seal of Approval for health care quality and safety."
About Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, a 569-bed tertiary care facility, is home to the areas only Level I Trauma Center and burn trauma unit. For nine straight years, the National Research Corporation named Sentara Norfolk General Hospital Hampton Roads Consumers Choice award winner. Its heart program has received national recognition in U.S. News & World Reports 2004 survey, most recently ranking 40th out of the top 50 U.S. hospitals named for cardiac excellence.
Sentara Norfolk General Hospitals heart program also ranks number one in Virginia for overall cardiac services according to HealthGrades, a health care quality company, and has ranked among the top 100 cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S. for five years of the survey by Solucient, a healthcare intelligence firm. As part of its comprehensive heart program, Sentara continues to make significant commitments to national and international research, providing patients the latest treatment options.
Currently, Sentara is building the regions only heart hospitalSentara Heart Hospitalexpected to open 2006. In addition to a first rate cardiac program, the hospital is home to
Nightingale, the regions only air ambulance, and specialized services including the Sentara Cancer Institute, transplant program, eICU , a highly advanced electronic monitoring system for intensive care unit patients, hospitalist program, specialized level II nursery, minimally invasive surgery techniques, neurosciences, and reconstructive surgery.