Indianapolis, Feb. 20, 2018 – The Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital has earned primary stroke center accreditation reflecting the advanced level of care Eskenazi Health provides to all stroke patients.

“This accreditation acknowledges our staff’s dedication to the implementation of best practices with the goal of achieving better outcomes for stroke patients,” said Lee Ann Blue, executive vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer at Eskenazi Health. “I’m proud of our team’s hard work to develop a program that reflects not only our emphasis on high-quality, patient-centered care but on continuous staff education.”

Work initially began to receive this valued designation from The Joint Commission in 2016 with the successful surveyor visit taking place in 2017. 

When surveyors from The Joint Commission visited, they shared that they were impressed with everything Eskenazi Health’s stroke program encompassed after being fully developed in a short period of time. Highlights include nurses in the Michael & Susan Smith Emergency Department cutting thrombolytic administration times in half over the past year, all inpatient nurses earning certification to perform stroke assessments, and undergoing specialized stroke-specific education each year.   

Throughout the accreditation process, applying organizations learn and adopt strategies to improve the safety and quality of care of stroke patients. Primary stroke center certification recognizes hospitals that meet standards to support better outcomes for stroke care. Eligibility standards include:

• A dedicated stroke-focused program
• Staffing by qualified medical professionals trained in stroke care
• Individualized care to meet stroke patients’ needs
• Patient involvement in their hospital care
• Coordination of post-discharge patient self-care based on recommendations of the Brain Attack Coalition and guidelines published by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association or equivalent guidelines
• Streamlined flow of patient information while protecting patient rights, security and privacy
• Collection of the hospital’s stroke-treatment performance data
• Hospital team performance data
• Use of data to assess and continually improve quality of care for stroke patients

The stroke program requirements for The Joint Commission were developed in collaboration with the American Stroke Association. Work has already begun on the next step for Eskenazi Health to become the second comprehensive stroke center in Indiana.

CONTACT: Tom Surber
Phone: 317.880.4793
Cell: 317.402.9327
Pager: 317.310.5972
Email: thomas.surber@eskenazihealth.edu