Ten months after developing The Brain & Stroke Network to improve stroke care in San Antonio and South Texas, Baptist Health System has earned Primary Stroke Center Certification. Certification came from The Joint Commission. Baptist Health System earned this distinction of being the first in San Antonio to be certified, after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review in May of 2009.
“We’re proud to achieve the distinction,” says Trip Pilgrim, President and CEO of Baptist Health System. “Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes Baptist Health System’s commitment to providing outstanding care to our patients and our community. Our staff across the system, and affiliated physicians, have worked hard to earn this certification, which gives the people of our region the assurance of top-quality stroke care.”
The Brain & Stroke Network at Baptist Health System operates in collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and private neurologists, and provides round-the-clock stroke care for patients across San Antonio and South Texas.
“This certification by the Joint Commission recognizes the quality of care being delivered by The Brain & Stroke Network at Baptist Health System," said David Jimenez, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Health Science Center. We are very pleased to be a part of a program that is leading the way in the delivery of excellent stroke care for San Antonio and South Texas."
Suzanne DelBoccio, Vice President Neurosciences and Orthopedics at Baptist Health System, who led the effort to earn certification, noted that the city-wide reach of the Brain & Stroke Network is essential to comprehensive service. “Stroke can happen anywhere, anytime, so our commitment has been to assure that each of our hospitals: Baptist Medical Center, North Central Baptist Hospital, Northeast Baptist Hospital, Southeast Baptist Hospital and St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital, are stroke-ready and fully certified,” she said.
“Baptist Health System demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission. 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 ever 45 second and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.