EJGH Earns Gold Seal For Stroke Care

The Joint Commission certifies the hospital as a national Advanced Primary Stroke Center.

East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH) is proud to announce that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center. This distinction signifies that EJGH has implemented the stringent, national guidelines needed for high-level stroke care. This honor also follows an intensive site visit and review by a panel of commission experts.

“In stroke care, time is the brain,” says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., Executive Director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, The Joint Commission. “By achieving certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, East Jefferson General Hospital has proven that it has the ability to provide effective, timely care to stroke victims and can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients.”

The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities. A team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluates for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients and families, including infection prevention and control, leadership, and medication management.

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. The Joint Commission’s Advanced 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.

“Earning the Gold Seal from The Joint Commission shows the excellence in care provided by our physicians, nurses, and clinical teams,” says Ruby Brewer, R.N., M.S.N., M.B.A., EJGH Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer. “This absolutely places us among the nation’s leaders in stroke care and is a tremendous honor for our community. Having the stamp of approval by a respected and independent organization like The Joint Commission validates the quality of care we deliver every day.”

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.

East Jefferson General Hospital – East Jefferson General Hospital is a publicly-owned, not-for-profit community hospital. This service district hospital, formed in 1965, receives no tax support from Jefferson Parish. The 420-bed hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and is Louisiana’s first Nurse Magnet hospital. For more information on East Jefferson General Hospital, visit online at ejgh.org.