Providence St. Vincent and Providence Portland medical centers are among elite U.S. hospitals certified as primary stroke centers by The Joint Commission, a national organization that monitors health care safety and quality.
To merit this seal of approval, Providence meets the highest standards of clinical care and performance, including:
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Neurologists available to diagnose and treat acute stroke around the clock. This may include administering time-sensitive clot-dissolving drugs to reduce or even reverse the damage caused by stroke.
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Rapid-response emergency and radiology departments who will admit patients quickly and perform diagnostic tests within minutes.
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Interventionalists who can perform minimally invasive procedures to halt bleeding, extract a clot or prop open a narrowed blood vessel.
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Cross-discipline stroke teams – physicians, nurses, rehabilitation therapists and others – to guide patients through recovery.
These practices improve patient care, reduce the risk for death or disability, and shorten hospital stays.
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center was the first hospital in the state to earn primary stroke center certification in 2004. Providence Portland Medical Center received its certification the following year.
As part of the certification process, the hospitals underwent extensive onsite evaluations by a Joint Commission reviewer.
“This recognition is a reflection of the excellence of our hospital stroke care providers and the commitment of the hospital administration to this disease area,” said Dr. Ted Lowenkopf, medical director for Providence Stroke Center, which serves both campuses.
Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center continue to exceed the national quality guidelines for stroke care, also achieving the Get With The Guidelines Gold performance award for sustained excellence in stroke care from the American Stroke Association.
Providence Stroke Center, Oregon’s first Joint Commission certified program for stroke care, works in cooperation with the Oregon Stroke Center to provide round-the-clock acute stroke evaluation and cutting-edge treatment. Stroke patients are cared for by a team of experts who work to identify stroke cause, minimize stroke-related disability; and guide patients to recovery and rehabilitation after hospitalization. Providence Stroke Center is part of the Providence Brain Institute and offers services at both Providence St. Vincent and Providence Portland Medical Centers. For more information, visit www.providence.org/brain
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