Centra Lynchburg General Hospital has earned The Joint Commission's national Certificate of Distinction for Primary Stroke Centers, and is the first hospital in central, southside and western Virginia to earn this honor.

This national certification recognizes centers that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care and means Centra complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care, according to The Joint Commission. 

 “We are proud to achieve this distinction for our stroke care,” said George W. Dawson, Centra president and CEO. “Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification is national recognition of Centra’s commitment to providing outstanding care to our patients and our community.”

“This honor is only possible through collaboration and teamwork,” said Mary Marshman, Centra manager of neurosciences and stroke program coordinator, “and it is indicative of the teamwork and dedication that we provide in our care of our stroke patients.”

Achievement of certification signifies that the services the hospital provides have the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes. The designation validates that Centra’s care for stroke patients is among the best. Stroke care involves emergency crews in the field, emergency department physicians and nurses, and National Institutes of Health-certified neuroscience registered nurses, neurologists, hospitalists, intensivists, neurosurgeons, lab and radiology technicians and rehabilitation physicians, therapists and nurses. The stroke certification process touched nearly every department, and also included neuroscience data registry, dietary, pharmacy, case management, pastoral care, catheterization laboratory, respiratory, service excellence, environmental services, security, volunteers and administration.

Much goes into earning the designation as a certified stroke center, including a visit to Centra by Joint Commission stroke expert who evaluated Centra’s performance in areas that affect stroke patient care.

Recently, Centra instituted a new code stroke program. Using a FAST method of identifying possible stroke patients, all hospital staff members, from housekeeping staff to nurses now have the resources and responsibility to activate the hospital’s code stroke response team.

FAST is an acronym used to pinpoint four key signs of stroke: facial droop, arm drift, speech difficulty and time. Patients are evaluated and initial testing is completed to determine next steps for their medical care. Initiation of the FAST scale and a code stroke protocol demonstrate Centra’s commitment to medical excellence for stroke patients.

“Centra demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” said Jean E. Range, R.N., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission. Centra earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review in May.

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.

The Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification program was developed in collaboration with the American Stroke Association.  It is based on recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements/guidelines for stroke care.

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