(Louisville, KY)  University Hospital’s Stroke Center was recently designated a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). University joins the ranks of about 50 primary stroke centers in the United States and becomes the first hospital in the state of Kentucky to have the designation.

University received the designation based on the exceptional efforts the hospital makes to foster better outcomes for stroke care, including providing the elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes, and providing effectively managed care to meet the unique and specialized needs of stroke patients.

"This designation as a primary stroke center recognizes the dedication University Hospital has to providing the most comprehensive stroke care, as well as the hard work and devotion of the Stroke Center team," said James Taylor, President of University Hospital.

University’s Stroke Center has an in-house team of specialists available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet the needs of stroke patients. Led by Dr. Kerri Remmel, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the interdisciplinary team consists of neurologists, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and nurses, as well as occupational, physical, and speech therapists.

The Stroke Center provides stroke patients with an aggressive and unique approach to stroke assessment by providing a "fast track" system, that is designed to diagnose a stroke and begin treatment quickly. This "fast track" system works well at University because, as the area’s only Level I Trauma Center, the hospital is prepared to deal with emergency situations around the clock. 

The Stroke Center has a program to educate the public as well as other healthcare providers across the state about stroke. "One of our main objectives is to help other healthcare workers - emergency room physicians, EMTs, and nurses - to recognize the signs of stroke and give them the tools to help stroke patients get the best care possible," said Dr. Kerri Remmel. In an effort to increase public awareness of stroke a public service announcement has been produced and will air on local television outlets. "Public awareness is extremely important, because time is of the essence with stroke. The quicker people can recognize they or someone with them is having a stroke and call EMS, the better the outcome," Dr. Remmel continued.

Kentucky sits atop the "stroke belt" - a stretch of states from Oklahoma to Virginia that lead the nation in stroke deaths. Stroke is a major problem in the Commonwealth - in fact only 11 other states have a higher death rate from stroke than does Kentucky, where 67.5 per 100,000 people die from stroke. Every 45 seconds, someone in America has a stroke and every three minutes, someone dies of one. As the nation's and Kentucky’s third leading cause of death, stroke ranks only behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer. In addition, stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.

The Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification Program is based on the Recommendations for Primary Stroke Centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and American Stroke Association statements for stroke to evaluate hospitals functioning as primary stroke centers.For more information on JCAHO’s accreditation program, visit http://www.jcaho.org/. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation's predominant standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

Warning sings of a stroke include:

• weakness or numbness on one side of the body;
• loss of vision or double vision;
• difficulty speaking or trouble understanding speech;
• severe headache with no known cause; and
• unexplained dizziness or imbalance.

University Hospital, the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and University Physicians’ Associates are all part of UofL Health Care, the region’s leading academic, research, and teaching medical center. All UofL Health Care services are associated with the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center.