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News Releases / Full Story

October 31, 2007

Dean & St. Mary's Stroke Center is the First Certified Stroke Center in South Central Wisconsin

MADISON, WI — After meticulously examining the ins and outs of stroke care and doing everything possible to improve patients’ outcomes, the Dean & St. Mary’s Stroke Center has received the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. This makes it the first and only program in South Central Wisconsin to receive this recognition. It earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an unannounced on-site review earlier this month.

“The Dean & St. Mary’s Stroke Center demonstrated that its stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” said Jean E. Range, MS, RN, CPHQ., 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 seconds 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.

“This is a huge accomplishment,” said Dr. Frank Byrne, President of St. Mary’s Hospital. “Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes our staff’s commitment to quality and dedication to our patients. ”

The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program—the nation’s first—in 2003. A list of programs certified by the Joint Commission is available at www.jointcommission.org.

The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more then 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 8,000 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, assisted living, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. In addition, the Joint Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services.

Learn more:
Dean & St. Mary's Stroke Center (Information located at the St. Mary's Hospital website)
Dean Neurology
Dean Neurosurgery