Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin earn highest level stroke certification from Joint Commission and Stroke Association
Milwaukee, Wis. – The Stroke and Neurovascular Program at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin has earned the highest level of recognition – Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification – from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Froedtert & The Medical College are the only organization in eastern Wisconsin to be awarded this designation, showing that the hospital is thoroughly committed to providing the highest quality stroke care based on current scientific research to ensure continuous improvement in care.
Established in 2012, Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification surpasses the sponsoring organizations’ existing Primary Stroke Center Certification to recognize hospitals that meet or exceed advanced standards for treating the most complex stroke case. These organizations are industry leaders and responsible for setting the national agenda in highly-specialized stroke care. Froedtert is among the first 30 hospitals in the US to obtain this level of certification. Others include advanced academic medical centers such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Emory University Hospital and Duke University Hospital.
To be certified, Froedtert & The Medical College underwent a rigorous on-site review earlier this year. Joint Commission surveyors evaluated the Stroke and Neurovascular Program for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of stroke patients and families, including state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment and access to the most advanced imaging and treatment capabilities such as minimally invasive catheter-based treatments (endovascular surgical neuroradiology.) The program provides 24/7 availability of specialized treatments and opportunity for patients to participate in clinical trials. Physicians and staff have specialty education and competencies to care for any stroke patients.
“The Joint Commission commends Froedtert & The Medical College for voluntarily seeking certification as part of its commitment to focus on care processes that produce the best outcomes for complex stroke patients,” said Mark R. Chassin, MD, president of The Joint Commission. “Stroke patients who are treated at Froedtert can have added confidence that the hospital has put in place the critical elements necessary to meet their unique needs.”
“Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin has demonstrated that it meets stringent requirements to provide care through a multidisciplinary team dedicated to stroke including neurologists, emergency physicians and physical medicine and rehabilitation professionals, as well as subspecialists with advanced training including neurointerventionalists, neurointensivists and neuroradiologists. We work collaboratively to provide the most comprehensive continuum of stroke care,” said Sam Zaidat, MD, the medical co-director of the Froedtert & Medical College Stroke and Neurovascular Program.
Telestroke services are also provided, allowing experts at Froedtert to consult via webcam with patients and physicians at other facilities, and to arrange transfer for to the academic medical center campus if necessary.
According to the Joint Commission, Comprehensive Stroke Centers experience reduced costs, fewer complications and fewer lost lives, and provide a safer environment that results in better patient outcomes
According to Diane Book, MD, the program’s medical co-director, patients and their families have many advantages when seeking care at a Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Research shows that patients at such centers receive higher quality of care more quickly with fewer complications, have reduced hospital stays, and spend less time in rehabilitation. We proudly deliver this advanced level of care to southeastern Wisconsin residents and to patients transferred from across Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.”
About Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin
The Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin regional health care network is made up of Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls; St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend; and more than 30 primary and specialty care health centers and clinics. Joining the capabilities of an academic medical center affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert & The Medical College deliver highly coordinated, cost-effective health care to residents of southeastern Wisconsin and beyond. The network’s three hospitals have 772 staffed beds, nearly 40,000 annual admissions and more than 900,000 annual outpatient visits. For more information, visit froedtert.com.
