Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Receives Re-accreditation of its Primary Stroke Center

April 8, 2008

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s Stroke Center has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from the Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. Wake Forest Baptist earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review in March.

“Wake Forest Baptist 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 every 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.
“We’re proud to achieve the distinction,” said Jonathan Bailey, director of neurosciences and aging services at Wake Forest Baptist. “This achievement reflects years of excellence and the tireless efforts of a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses, therapists, staff, and administrators, and speaks to the high quality of stroke care provided to patients at the medical center.”
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 statements/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.
Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. 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.
For more information about Wake Forest Baptist’s stroke program, call 716-2255 or go to www.wfubmc.edu.

About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Brenner Children’s Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine and Piedmont Triad Research Park. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and has been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report since 1993. Wake Forest Baptist is ranked 32nd in the nation by America’s Top Doctors for the number of its doctors considered best by their peers. The institution ranks in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health and 4th in the Southeastern United States in revenues from its licensed intellectual property.

Media Relations

Rae Bush: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587

Karen Richardson: krchrdsn@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-4453