“Designation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center means that UAB is prepared to offer immediate access to state-of-the-art stroke care every minute of every day.”The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been named a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. UAB met the Joint Commission’s standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification. The designation means UAB is part of an elite group of providers recognized as industry leaders and responsible for setting the national agenda in highly specialized stroke care.
“Designation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center means that UAB is prepared to offer immediate access to state-of-the-art stroke care every minute of every day,” said David G. Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurology. “We provide advanced and potentially lifesaving services that are available nowhere else in Alabama, as part of our continuing commitment to offer the best possible care to residents of our state, the surrounding region and beyond.”
Comprehensive Stroke Center certification recognizes those hospitals that have the staff, training and infrastructure to receive and treat patients with the most complex strokes. The Joint Commission recognized UAB’s advanced imaging capabilities and 24-hour availability of specialized treatments, along with staff who possess the unique education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients.
UAB, which is the first hospital with Comprehensive Stroke Center certification in Alabama, has eight expert stroke physicians and the most board-certified vascular neurologists in the state, along with 350 nurses specially trained in stroke care. UAB’s Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit is one of the largest in the United States, and UAB Hospital also boasts a dedicated stroke unit. UAB treats over 1,100 strokes a year.
| UAB, which is the first hospital with Comprehensive Stroke Center certification in Alabama, has eight expert stroke physicians and the most board-certified vascular neurologists in the state, along with 350 nurses specially trained in stroke care. |
“Comprehensive Stroke Center certification is a reaffirmation of the exceptional stroke care we provide for our patients,” said Mark R. Harrigan, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and interim director of the UAB Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Stroke is a medical emergency, and this recognition by the Joint Commission and AHA shows that UAB is well equipped to be a leader in stroke management through education, research and enhanced patient care.”
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel either is blocked by a clot or bursts, which interrupts blood flow, depriving brain cells of the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. An American has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies from a stroke every four minutes. Strokes are the fifth-leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the U.S.
“By achieving this advanced certification, UAB has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition,” said Mark R. Chassin, M.D., president of the Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process, and the Joint Commission commends UAB for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”
Comprehensive Stroke Center certification was developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for Comprehensive Stroke Centers” and “Metrics for Measuring Quality of Care in Comprehensive Stroke Centers,” as well as on recommendations from a multidisciplinary advisory panel of experts in complex stroke care.
For more information on the Joint Commission and American Heart Association’s Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Center, visit www.jointcommission.org/ or www.heart.org/myhospital.