Palmdale Regional Awarded Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers

Friday, November 2, 2018
Female doctor and senior man

Palmdale Regional 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 represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.

Joint Commission AHA Primary Stroke Center

Palmdale Regional Medical Center underwent a rigorous onsite review in September 2018. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement.

“Palmdale Regional 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 Palmdale Regional for becoming a leader in stroke care, potentially providing a higher standard of service for stroke patients in its community.”

“We congratulate Palmdale Regional Medical Center 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 Palmdale Regional has clearly made it a priority to deliver high quality care to all patients affected by stroke.”

“I am so proud of our physicians and staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center who work tirelessly to provide high quality care to our community,” said Richard Allen, CEO of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. “The ‘Advanced Primary Stroke Center’ designation is indicative of their efforts to continually improve access to quality-oriented, timely care in the Antelope Valley.

The advanced treatment offered to victims of stroke combined with the capabilities of our new Rehabilitation Institute truly are unique within the high desert region.” “The Advanced Primary Stroke Center designation is a culmination of the hard work of an excellent team of dedicated professionals at Palmdale Regional Medical Center,” said Dr. Kamran Parsa, Palmdale Regional’s Stroke Program Medical Director. “It validates the hospital’s practices to ensure the highest level of quality for all of our patients.”

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.