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Saint Barnabas Stroke Center Receives Prestigious Livingston, NJ –The Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center has passed extensive evaluation by The Joint Commission to earn the prestigious Joint Commission Disease-Specific Certification – The Gold Seal of Approval™. The Joint Commission, which evaluates and accredits more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, is the nation’s largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Saint Barnabas has also been designated a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Each year, about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation’s third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is also a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. “Saint Barnabas Medical Center demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” said Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., Executive Director of Disease-Specific Certification of The Joint Commission. “Saint Barnabas Medical Center voluntarily pursued this comprehensive independent evaluation to enhance the safety and quality care we provide,” stated John F. Bonamo, M.D., M.S., Executive Director of Saint Barnabas Medical Center. “We are tremendously proud to have achieved this important certification.” The Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas offers specialized care to patients who suffer the most complex strokes and who require the most up-to-date, evidence-based care. When someone has a stroke, every second counts. The ability to provide care is based upon the time the patient first exhibits the symptoms of stroke. The sooner the patient is seen and evaluated by the stroke team, the greater the chance of providing that care which may lessen or reverse the affects of the stroke. In that end, the Medical Center has organized a stroke response team known as the Brain Attack Team (BAT). Comprised of an attending neurologist, medical resident, and nurse, BAT is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond immediately to all patients who present with a stroke. “Most strokes are ischemic, which means they occur from a blockage of the blood flow in an area of the brain,” says Doreen Monks, R.N., MSN, Advanced Practice Nurse and Program Coordinator of the Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas. “The sooner a patient is seen the sooner we can treat the patient. For instance, in ischemic stroke the standard of care for early treatment is the use of rtPA or tissue plasminogen activator. We have only a 3 hour window from the time the first symptom starts in which we can treat appropriate patients with this medication. We may be able to significantly reduce the affects of the stroke or reverse it entirely, but only if we have time to evaluate the patient if he or she is an appropriate candidate. Early assessment ensures that the patient has the opportunity to receive the best possible treatment” People must recognize the warning signs and call 911 immediately. This should be the first call you make. Don’t assume it will go away with a nap or after discussing it with your family members or even your own physician. By calling 911 and telling the dispatcher I think I or my family member is having a stroke this will get the patient to us in the fastest manner possible. Time is Brain so don’t delay. Learn the signs of stroke and teach them to your friends, family members, and acquaintances. Learn to be FAST. By learning FAST you learn the signs of stroke and what to do when you recognize them in yourself or in someone else: F – Face – Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile. A – Arm – Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to lift both arms S - Speech – Does their speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase like “Today is a beautiful day” T – Time – If you observe any of these signs CALL 911. For more information about The Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas, please call 973-322-9742 or visit www.saintbarnabas.com and click onto The Stroke Center at Saint Barnabas. Date: March 26, 2008 Saint Barnabas Contact: Samantha Anton,
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