St. Anthony’s Medical Center has been recertified as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

St. Anthony’s is one of only three hospitals in the St. Louis area and the only community hospital to receive this designation.

St. Anthony’s, which received its first primary stroke center designation in 2006, has treatment protocols based on nationally recognized standards of care in place to effectively diagnose and treat stroke patients to assure maximum recovery possible. In 2007, St. Anthony’s treated more than 800 stroke patients, or more than 40 percent of the patients in St. Louis and outlying areas with neurological diagnoses.

“Our outcomes for treatment meet or exceed national standards for safety and efficacy that centers hope to attain nationally, and our mortality is less than the national average,” said Linda Hill, coordinator of St. Anthony’s stroke team. “We have a lot to be proud of, but we never want to rest on our laurels: we always want to focus on how we can provide better care for our patients.”

To receive recertification by the Joint Commission, St. Anthony’s stroke team passed a rigorous survey process, showed data collection and reported to a national database. Also evaluated was the speed with which the stroke team treats patients appropriate for tissue plasminogen activator, a treatment that helps to reverse the effects of a stroke if it is used within three hours of the symptoms.