A national organization that accredits medical centers and evaluates their healthcare has designated Sharp Coronado Hospital as a “Primary Stroke Center” based on a review of Sharp’s patient outcomes and protocols.
The Joint Commission recognized Sharp Coronado following a survey that found no deficiencies in care or treatment protocols.
Sharp Coronado received the designation two years after being recognized with an Acute Stroke Ready Certification from the commission.
When two common types of strokes occur, medical attention to avoid the damage of brain cells is required as it can cause brain damage, disability, or even death.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, strokes are the second leading cause of death worldwide.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says that “just under 90% of strokes involve blocked blood vessels (ischemic), and the rest involve internal bleeding (hemorrhagic).”
Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke, a leading cause for serious long-term disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC also says that every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke and every 3 minutes and 14 seconds, someone dies of stroke.
Providers at Sharp Coronado treated about 120 stroke patients last year, according to the hospital’s Special Populations Program Manager Wendy Rutherford, who is stroke certified registered nurse.
Sharp Coronado chief nursing officer, Marlena Montgomery, said in a news release shared with The Coronado News that Coronado Hospital Foundation has been instrumental in supporting advances in emergency care.
When hospital leaders committed to becoming a Primary Stroke Center, Montgomery said, the foundation dedicated an additional $2.3 million to a campaign for enhanced emergency and intensive care to establish the center.
The Coronado Hospital Foundation said it is pleased to support the Primary Stroke Center at Sharp Coronado Hospital with philanthropic funds that will support initial and ongoing education and training for staff, specialized team members including stroke nurses, on-call coverage from specialty physicians, continuous investment in quality improvement, community outreach programs, new equipment or upgrades to existing equipment and supplies.
“We are thrilled to support this exciting initiative to expand expertise at our hospital and care for stroke patients within our community,” wrote the foundation’s Board Chair Judy Weisman in a statement sent to The Coronado News.
According to the foundation, every donation to the Primary Stroke Center up to $650,000 will be matched through June 2024 through the generous support of community members, like B.J. Adelson and Arlene Inch.
“For our patients, the primary certification highlights our commitment to providing the highest quality stroke care to our community and keeping most stroke patients at Sharp Coronado,” added Montgomery. “Sharp Coronado’s Primary Stroke Center certification is one more important, key step toward Sharp HealthCare’s commitment to becoming San Diego’s leader in neuroscience care.”
Managing stroke care
With 14-years of stroke care experience under her belt, Rutherford said it has been a pleasure to be a part of the Sharp Coronado team following her stroke managing role at Sharp Grossmont Hospital.
“Even though I’ve only been here four months, I feel really it is a culture of love,” Rutherford said.
The Commission offers four advanced levels of stroke certification for accredited hospitals with program requirements developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
“We’re creating a place where you don’t have to leave the island unless absolutely necessary, which I think for a lot of people who live in Coronado, that’s really important to them to know that they have a high level of care right at their fingertips,” Rutherford said.
Hospitals must meet standards, clinical guidelines, and performance measures, according to a commission brochure.
Rutherford said certification reviews are conducted every two years.
“This is my sixth survey, and I’ve never been part of a survey with zero findings,” she added.
Maureen Lyons from The Joint Commission Communications team said it is highly unusual for a Primary Stroke Center to receive no findings on an initial event, with less than 5% of healthcare organizations in the country being successful in that way.
Registered Nurse Cindy Arias said that the certification means Sharp Coronado is providing community residents with the services that they deserve.
“It means everything,” Arias said. “Our nurses worked so hard for this, everybody was excited about it.”
Medical staff also share stroke-related information to better inform the public.
“Time is tissue. Every minute that you wait, you lose 2 million brain cells and so you want to get to the closest emergency room as quickly as possible,” Rutherford added. “To have a program that we were developing while we were improving our quality metrics in the middle of a pandemic, it speaks a lot to the quality of care here.”
