Mount Sinai has become the first medical center in New York State to receive advanced certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and joins an elite group of institutions around the nation that meets The Joint Commission’s standards and requirements for complex stroke care. The announcement was made after The Joint Commission reviewed Mount Sinai’s stroke-care programs in June.
“By achieving this advanced certification, Mount Sinai has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of its patients with a complex stroke condition,” said Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH, President, The Joint Commission. “Certification is a voluntary process and The Joint Commission commends Mount Sinai for successfully undertaking this challenge to elevate the standard of its care for the community it serves.”
To attain this new Comprehensive Stroke Center designation, a hospital must have the infrastructure, staff, and training to provide state-of-the-art complex stroke care. For example, Mount Sinai demonstrated that it provides dedicated neuro-intensive care beds for complex stroke patients and neuro-critical care to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week; has advanced-imaging capabilities; coordinates post-hospital care for patients; offers specialized procedures; and participates in stroke research, among other requirements for certification.
“Mount Sinai is deeply invested in providing the best quality care for our stroke patients with state-of-the-art technologies and renowned clinical staff,” says David L. Reich, MD, Interim President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Horace W. Goldsmith Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.
Under the leadership of Stanley Tuhrim, MD, Professor and Clinical Vice Chair of the Department of Neurology, the Center is pioneering new approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke that can significantly improve patient chances for an optimal recovery, and is considered a leader in stroke research. “We bring together specialists from many areas to provide our patients with the benefit of a collaborative team approach,” says Dr. Tuhrim. The team includes vascular neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, emergency medicine and rehabilitation specialists, nutritionists, social workers and case managers, and a dedicated clinical nursing staff.
Mount Sinai is also committed to stroke prevention in the community. “We are actively involved in community outreach activities and in potentially groundbreaking research to optimize chronic disease self-management skills in stroke and transient ischemic attack survivors,” adds Dr. Tuhrim. “We are honored that The Joint Commission has recognized us for our dedication to research and the care of our patients.”