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GBMC Announces Regulatory Approval For Primary Stroke Center

BALTIMORE, Md. – Decmber 6, 2006 –   Greater Baltimore Medical Center today announced that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has designated the hospital as a Primary Stroke Center.

“The need for organized stroke programs to improve patient outcomes has been clearly established within the healthcare community,” said Allan Genut, M.D., GBMC’s medical director of stroke services.  Dr. Genut noted JCAHO has established a Certificate of Distinction for Primary Stroke Centers based on the Recommendations for Primary Stroke Centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and American Stroke Association.

For several months, GBMC clinical staff have been highlighting stroke education across the hospital, using the “F.A.S.T.” acronym and ensuring awareness of the signs and symptoms of strokes. 

F:            Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

A:            Ask the person to raise both arms.  Does one arm drift downward?

S:            Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.  Are the words slurred?

T:            If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. 

In Fiscal Year 2004, there were nearly 6,500 stroke-related inpatient hospital admissions within GBMC’s primary service area, a figure projected to grow by almost nine percent by FY 2009, adding more than 550 stroke cases.

“Opening a Primary Stroke Center will support GBMC’s mission to provide medical care and service of the highest quality to each patient and support the growth of GBMC inpatient admissions,” said Dr. Genut, noting projections call for an increase of about 50 stroke cases per year for GBMC.

At GBMC’s Emergency Department, a stroke team is responsible for initial patient assessment and workup consistent with JCAHO criteria including rapid diagnostic imaging and labs.  Stroke patients are admitted to dedicated care units where nurses and ancillary care providers have received specialized stroke-focused education and training.

GBMC’s stroke program is dedicated to those patients who have had a Cerebrovascular Accident or Transient Ischemic Attack.  Patient care is managed by a multidisciplinary team, including neurologists, a stroke program manager (Certified Neurological Registered Nurse) a neurosciences nurse educator and specialists from several disciplines including physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, dietary, and care management.

Stroke, also called brain attack, occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted, either when a blood clot blocks one of the vital blood vessels in the brain (ischemic stroke), or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into surrounding tissues (hemorrhagic stroke).

According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Strokes kill more than 157,000 Americans each year, and a person dies from a stroke  almost every three minutes in the United States.

 GBMC includes Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), Central Maryland’s leading community hospital; Hospice of Baltimore, which provides comfort and care to patients with life-limiting illnesses; and the GBMC Foundation, which supports the GBMC mission by managing fundraising efforts.  The 292-bed Medical Center, located on a beautiful suburban campus, serves nearly 22,000 inpatients annually and provides approximately 50,000 emergency room visits. For more information, go to www.gbmc.org.

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