Primary Stroke Center Certification Requirements

Stroke Team: A hospital-based Acute Stroke Team must be available 24 hours day, seven days a week to evaluate suspected stroke patients within 15 minutes. The team must include a physician who has experience in diagnosing and treating strokes and cerebrovascular disease.

Written Care Protocols: These must be established procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients in order to reduce the time required to diagnose and treat strokes.

Emergency Medical Services: A hospital must show effective communication and coordination with local emergency medical services for patients with stroke symptoms.

Emergency Department: All emergency department staff must have training and experience in diagnosing and treating stroke. In addition, they must demonstrate effective communications with emergency medical services and the Acute Stroke Team.

Stroke Unit: If a Primary Stroke Center intends to provide inpatient care to stroke patients, they must have a designated Stroke Unit where patients can receive specialized monitoring and care.

Neurosurgical Services: Within two hours of when the services are deemed necessary, a Primary Stroke Center must be able to provide neurosurgical services to stroke patients. This can be accomplished in-house or by transferring them to another facility.

Neuroimaging: A Primary Stroke Center must be able to provide rapid diagnosis via CT Scan or MRI within 25 minutes of the physician's order. A physician must be available within 20 minutes after it has been performed to evaluate it.

Laboratory and Other Diagnostic Services: A Primary Stroke Center must also be capable of performing standard laboratory services around-the-clock as well as other necessary tests (e.g., routine blood tests, an ECG and chest x-rays).

Support of Medical Organization: The hospital staff and administration must demonstrate a commitment to the Primary Stroke Center in order to ensure the delivery of quality and effective acute stroke care.

Quality Improvement Initiatives: All Primary Stroke Centers must monitor their timelines and outcomes. All care should be monitored continuously and improvements made when possible.

Education Programs: The professional staff of a Primary Stroke Center must receive at least eight hours of continuing education per year. The Center must also provide a minimum of two programs per year to educate the public about stroke prevention, diagnosis and availability for emergency treatment.

2007