Providence Recognized for Advanced Stroke Care

Spokane, WA—Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital recently earned certification as a Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Center. This advanced stroke certification, offered by The Joint Commission in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, recognizes hospitals that meet rigorous standards for performing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), a specialized surgical procedure used to remove a blood clot during an ischemic stroke.

“EVT is a safe, highly effective, frontline treatment that can dramatically reduce disability and save lives,” said Ken Isaacs, M.D., regional medical director of Providence Spokane Neuroscience Institute. “Studies have shown performing EVT saves twice as many lives compared with standard tPA treatment alone.

This certification recognizes our commitment to provide our region with a higher standard of coordinated stroke care. It also recognizes the number of patients who have received endovascular treatment from our skilled team since 2011. Sacred Heart Medical Center has helped several thousand stroke patients in that timeframe; more than 350 of those patients have had improved outcomes using this endovascular approach by our team of board-certified neurologists,, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, neurointerventionalist, neuroradiologis and specially trained nurses and therapists. In our eighth year as a Washington state-designated Level-I Stroke Center of Excellence, we care for our community and our patients from prevention and diagnosis through treatment and rehabilitation.”

Sacred Heart Medical Center has the only stroke program throughout eastern Washington and Idaho with 24/7, in-house neurohospitalists immediately available in the emergency department. This distinct difference helps provide exceptionally rapid and accurate treatment for the patients who can benefit from endovascular thrombectomy.

To be eligible for the Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Center certification, the hospital’s primary neurointerventionalists—the physicians who routinely perform emergency mechanical thrombectomy—must meet the highest standards of subspecialty training. This service is provided by neurointerventionalists from Inland Imaging. The hospital was also required to meet strict guidelines that include performing EVT on a minimum of 15 patients in the past year, or 30 patients in the past two years, and the capability to perform EVT around the clock, seven days a week.

“Our program far exceeds these numbers,” said Dr. Isaacs.

“The Joint Commission congratulates Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital on this significant achievement which makes it a preferred location for transporting patients with suspected ischemic stroke,” said David Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, executive vice president, Division of Health Care Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission.

Spot signs of stroke

“Time is brain” when it comes to stroke, which means the more immediate the treatment, the less damage to the brain from the stroke.

Use the letters in "F.A.S.T." to spot signs of stroke and know when to call 9-1-1.

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