Franciscan St. Anthony Health Hospitals Awarded Primary Stroke Certification

Elderly-CoupleFranciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point and Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City have been awarded Primary Stroke Certification from the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP).

Certification serves as a notice that the hospital has the capacity to stabilize and treat acute stroke patients, provide acute care, and administer acute therapies safely and efficiently.

"This certification signifies that Franciscan St. Anthony Health has demonstrated and is clearly committed to providing excellent stroke care to its patients," said Josh Prober, HFAP chief executive officer. "Hospitals that have established stroke centers have demonstrated improved treatment, better patient outcomes, and reduced costs. Moreover, Primary Stroke centers have the required infrastructure and protocols in place to stabilize and provide rapid and evidence-based care to acute stroke patients," added Prober.

HFAP has been certifying stroke centers since 2006 and currently offers the most options for facilities seeking stroke care certification. HFAP is the nation's only accreditation program that certifies the full Stroke Continuum – Stroke Ready, Primary Stroke and Comprehensive Stroke. HFAP stroke certification differs from other certification programs in that it provides a three-year certification award with a mid-cycle review at 18 months. In addition, for reimbursement eligibility, hospitals must submit quarterly clinical performance measures to the HFAP office and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In order to achieve Primary Stroke Certification, Franciscan St. Anthony Health had to meet the following standards:

• Program director must have extensive experience in acute stroke.
• Stroke code team arrival at bedside must be within 15 minutes.
• Lab testing and advanced imaging capabilities must be available 24/7.
• The hospital must have access to neurologists 24/7.
• The hospital must have neurosurgical expertise available or able to transfer patients within two hours.
• The hospital must have a designation stroke unit.
• Staff must meet education requirements.

For more information about the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, visit http://www.hfap.org.