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CE Article: Perfecting stroke care though certification*

Nurse Leader Weekly, June 2, 2008

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The recipe for creating a successful stroke care program at your facility may include many items. Teamwork, leadership, and commitment are just a few examples. And while not necessary for success, The Joint Commission's 10 indicators may be the most important--and most helpful--ingredient.

Take St. Joseph's Regional Health Center (SJRHC) in Bryan, TX, as an example. Amy Plotts, RN, chest pain and stroke coordinator, was hired in July 2006 to coordinate the stroke program there. Beverly Welch, RN, director of emergency services at SJRHC, had already spent months pulling together information to present to a team of people, called the clinical operations performance improvement committee (COPIC).Welch credits leadership's involvement with this team from day one as the reason that in December 2007, 18 months after the program officially began, SJRHC received stroke care certification from The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO).

Knowing the signs

Lori Massaro, MSN, CRNP, an acute care nurse practitioner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Stroke Institute (UPMC), says that every member of the hospital staff needs to be able to recognize the signs of stroke and verbalize what mechanisms are in place if a patient is having a stroke.

The American Stroke Association (ASA) lists the following warning signs of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Editor's note: This excerpt was adapted from the CE Article: Perfecting stroke care though certification featured in the Reading Room on HCPro's new online resource center.

Did you know members of StrategiesforNurseManagers.com can receive free CE credits for this article with membership? Just login or subscribe today, or purchase the quiz that goes along with the article.

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