Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. SRRMC earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an unannounced on-site review in August.

“Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center 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 ever 45 second and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the , with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.

“We’re proud to achieve the distinction,” says Joyce Brancato, CEO. “Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes Seven Rivers Regoinal’s commitment to providing outstanding care to our patients and our community.”

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.

Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center is a 128-bed general, medical/surgical acute care facility that opened its doors in 1978 and serves the communities of Citrus, Levy and South Marion Counties. Seven Rivers Regional is fully accredited by The Joint Commission and has received Primary Stroke Center certification. The medical center is a participant with all three American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) programs and is recognized by AHA/ASA for its success in using GWTG-Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure in turning guidelines into lifelines. In addition, Seven Rivers Regional has joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 5 Million Lives Campaign, is a partner with Florida Medical Quality Assurance, Inc. on Medicare projects and has been honored as one of the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals (1999, 2001) and Top 100 Hospital for Stroke (2000). Seven Rivers Regional can be found on the World Wide Web at www.srrmc.com.

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 nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the , 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. The Joint Commission also accredits health plans, integrated delivery networks, and other managed care entities. In addition, the Joint Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about the Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.