The Villages Regional Hospital has earned recertification and The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers.
The 307-bed facility also earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark. The Gold Seal of Approval and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations, said officials from the not-for-profit Central Florida Health, parent company of TVRH and Leesburg Regional Medical Center.
TVRH has been accredited since November 2016 and provides rapid treatment to more than 550 area residents who suffer strokes annually.
“Stroke is a brain attack and we should think of it in the same way we think of a heart attack. You need to seek medical treatment quickly,” said Don Henderson, president and chief executive officer of CFH. “Being a certified advanced primary stroke center means we have trained staff and leading-edge technology in place to make an accurate diagnosis and provide our patients with the right care in a timely manner.”
TVRH underwent a rigorous on-site review to achieve its recertification. An expert from The Joint Commission reviewed the hospital’s compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement.
“We are pleased to be recertified by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association,” Henderson said. “Due to the hard work and dedication of our stroke care clinical team, including our physician partners, this designation provides us with an opportunity to highlight the exceptional stroke care we deliver, as well as to continually strive to further advance the quality of our care.”
Stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.