Good Samaritan Awarded Stroke Center Accreditation From the Joint Commission

Good Samaritan has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Stroke Center Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

The Stroke Services Department underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review on August 30, 2021. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Good Samaritan’s Stroke Center standards spanning several areas including deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, completion of a dysphagia screen, antithrombotic therapy, anticoagulation therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation, thrombolytic therapy (administering thrombolytic medication <60 minutes from the time the patient arrived), statin medication at discharge, smoking cessation, assessment for rehabilitation (physical, occupational, and speech therapies), and stroke education.

The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Good Samaritan for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”

Initially, Good Samaritan was supposed to go through an in-person survey in the summer of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was pushed back a year. During this time, the Stroke Services Department was able to change and update processes, disseminate stroke data, reached out and formed a relationship with EMS, reached out to the community, created a Cardiac Rehab for Stroke patients pilot program, and rolled out a new tele-stroke program with the University of Louisville.

“I am very proud of our Stroke Services team for everything we have accomplished to demonstrate and certify our commitment to those impacted by a stroke in Knox and surrounding counties in Indiana and Illinois,” said Erika Watts, Stroke Program Coordinator at Good Samaritan.

For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.