St. Vincent Evansville Awarded Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers

St. Vincent Evansville has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. This is the third time St. Vincent Evansville has received this advanced certification. The Gold Seal of Approval^® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.  

To achieve this advanced certification, St. Vincent Evansville underwent a rigorous onsite review. Joint Commission experts evaluated the hospital’s compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement. 

“St. Vincent Evansville has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of stroke patients through its Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers,” said Patrick Phelan, executive director, Hospital Business Development, The Joint Commission. “We commend St. Vincent Evansville for becoming a leader in stroke care, potentially providing a higher standard of service for stroke patients in its community.”

“We congratulate St. Vincent Evansville for achieving this designation,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “By adhering to this very specific set of treatment guidelines St. Vincent Evansville has clearly made it a priority to deliver high quality care to all patients affected by stroke.”

“St. Vincent Evansville is pleased to receive advanced certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association,” said Dan Parod, President, St. Vincent Southern Region. “The certification is continued evidence of the highest quality care provided by our care teams at St. Vincent. Advanced certifications such as this provide us with the opportunity to highlight the exceptional stroke care our teams provide and our continued efforts to advance care even further.” 

Established in 2003, Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute care hospitals. The certification was derived from the Brain Attack Coalition’s “Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (JAMA, 2000) and the “Revised and Updated Recommendations for the Establishment of Primary Stroke Centers” (Stroke, 2011).

Stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.