Quality Care Brings UVa Stroke Center National Certification

The University of Virginia's Stroke Center has been recertified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission, a national accrediting group for healthcare organizations. UVa is the only hospital in Central Virginia to earn this certification.

            Primary stroke centers certified by the Joint Commission meet nationally accepted quality standards developed by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association to care for stroke patients. Those standards include stroke teams, written care plans and an emergency response system. Some of the services offered by UVa include:

  • Round-the-clock care from stroke specialists: UVa's stroke team is available 24/7 and is comprised of physicians and nurses who specialize in caring for stroke patients, including four board-certified stroke neurologists, neurosurgeons and specially trained stroke care nurses.
  • Rapid access to critical drugs: Patients at UVa receive fast, quality care key to preventing death and long-term disability from a stroke. In 2005, UVa was able to administer tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) - a clot-busting drug that must be given within three hours of a stroke to be most effective - an average of 51 minutes after a patient arrives at the emergency department. "We can give tPA rapidly in the emergency room mainly because we have been doing this for over 20 years and have a ‘well-oiled' team approach to better serve patient needs," says UVa stroke neurologist Nina Solenski, M.D.
  • Specialized facilities: Stroke patients at UVa are treated in the hospital's Stroke Unit and the Neuro-intensive Care Unit. Studies have shown that receiving treatment in a specialized stroke unit leads to shorter hospital stays and increased rates of being able to live at home following a stroke. Patients in the Stroke Unit, for instance, receive care from physical, occupational and speech therapists who aid patients in their recovery and rehabilitation. Patients also have access to one of just two Joint Commission-certified stroke rehabilitation centers in Virginia.