St Vincent’s Receives Prestigious Stroke Center Designation

BRIDGEPORT — St Vincent’s Medical Center was recently designated a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). St Vincent’s is one of the few hospitals in the state of Connecticut to receive this designation.

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/guidelines for stroke care.

“We’re proud to achieve the distinction,” said Susan Davis, RN, EdD, president and CEO. “Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes St Vincent’s commitment to providing outstanding care to our patients and our community.” 

“St Vincent’s demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” says Charles A. Mowll, FACHE, executive vice president, Business Development, Government, and External Relations, Joint Commission. 

Dr Michael Herman, chairman of the Department of Medicine at St Vincent’s, said, “Our Stroke Center was developed as a result of a two-year hospitalwide commitment and multidisciplinary task force that has worked toward certification in order to improve stroke care and awareness in our community.”

“The certification recognizes the ability of our center to provide rapid, effective treatment that improves stroke patients’ chances of recovery,” said Dr Herman.

Some of program highlights include: 

éStroke Team on call 24/7

éRapid medical attention in Emergency room using stroke protocols

éDesignated stroke unit dedicated to stroke care

éCatheterization Lab equipped for carotid artery interventions

éState-of-the-art rehabilitation unit

éStroke support group

éParticipation in stroke research trials

Srinath Kadimi, MD, FRCS, medical director of the Stroke Center at St Vincent’s, said, “Stroke is sudden, its consequences devastating. At St Vincent’s, our goal is to reduce its numbers and give both hope and assistance to those in our community who have been touched by stroke.”

“Our stroke team has placed a huge emphasis on patient and community education/screenings to increase awareness and the need for stroke prevention and immediate treatment of symptom onset,” said Jennifer Nascimento RN, stroke coordinator.

 In addition to Dr Kadimi, the St Vincent’s Stroke Center team is led by Jennifer Nascimento RN, stroke coordinator, Sharon Nathman RN, stroke unit nurse manager, and Karen Nefores RN, quality management facilitator.

“Stroke is a medical emergency because the longer the blood flow is cut off to the brain, the greater the damage,” said Dr Kadimi. “While the nation has improved its response to heart care significantly over the past two decades, it has not given the treatment of strokes the same urgency.”

Symptoms include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body, sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech, sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination, and sudden severe headache with no known cause.

For more information on the Stroke Center at St Vincent’s, call the toll-free Care Line at 1-877-255-SVHS (7847).