St. Vincent Charity Medical Center announced that it 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. The Gold Seal of Approval and the Heart-Check mark are symbolic representations of quality from their respective organizations. 

To earn the recognition, St. Vincent Charity underwent a rigorous onsite review in early February 2016. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care, and performance improvement. 

“St. Vincent Charity has demonstrated an exceptional level of commitment to the care of stroke patients by achieving Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers,” said Wendi Roberts, RN, MS, TNS, CLNC, executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, The Joint Commission. “We commend them for being a leader in the identification, intervention, and treatment of stroke care for patients. Certified primary stroke centers consistently set a higher standard of care for stroke patients in their communities.”

“We are pleased to receive Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association,” said Dr. David F. Perse, president and CEO of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. “The certification provides us the opportunity to highlight the exceptional stroke care we provide and continually strive to advance even further.” 

Stroke is the number five 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.