Stroke Center
Redlands Community Hospital Receives Certification As An Advanced Primary
Stroke Center
Redlands Community Hospital has been certified by The Joint Commission
for Primary Stroke Center as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center following
a detailed, on-site review of the hospital in 2011. It is based on the
recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack
Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements/guidelines
for stroke care.
Each year about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which
is the nation’s third leading cause of death. On average, someone
suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1
minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in
the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
Redlands Community Hospital physicians say the distinction underscores
the hospital’s hyper-vigilant focus on preventing, diagnosing and
treating stroke. “Many of us refer to stroke as a brain attack today
because we want people to think of stroke as an emergency medical situation,”
said Dr. Phong Nguyen, an emergency room physician and co-medical director
of the Stroke Program at Redlands Community Hospital. “We want residents
to recognize stroke symptoms and call 911 if they think they are suffering
a stroke. We have many medicines and tools today to reverse the damage
for stroke but time is of the essence.”
Symptoms of stroke can be subtle or immediately devastating. Dr. Robert
Klein, a neurologist and co-medical director of the hospital’s Stroke
Program, said learning the “FAST” diagnostic tool may help
families identify stroke sooner. FAST stands for Face (do you notice someone’s
smile droop); Arms (does one arm not move like the other); Speech (is
the person’s speech slurred or strange) and Time (call 911 if you
notice any of these signs). “Awareness of stroke symptoms could
mean the difference between life and death or severe disability,”
said Dr. Klein.
The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification is based
on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain
Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements
and guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program—the
nation’s first—in 2003. A list of programs certified by The
Joint Commission is available at
www.qualitycheck.org.
