Neuroscience Institute Receives Primary Stroke Center Designation

The Neuroscience Institute at UC and University Hospital (UH) has earned “Primary Stroke Center” certification from the national Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

The UC/UH Primary Stroke Center is one of only about 140 in the country to receive JCAHO certification, which is based on the Brain Attack Coalition’s recommendations for primary stroke centers and the American Stroke Association's statements guidelines for stroke care.

“Although the Neuroscience Institute is receiving the Primary Stroke Center designation,” said Joseph Broderick, MD, chairman of UC’s neurology department, “every member of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Team, every health-care professional who cares for stroke patients at University Hospital and every cerebrovascular researcher at UC shares in this award.”

Each year about 700,000 Americans experience a new or recurrent stroke—or one about every 45 seconds—making it the nation's third leading cause of death and a major cause of serious, long-term disability. Someone dies of a stroke about every three minutes.

Fast treatment is key to stroke survival. If evaluated and treated within three hours with the clot-dissolving drug tPA, the stroke patient stands a good chance of full recovery.

Established in 1999, the Neuroscience Institute is run jointly by nine academic departments at UC College of Medicine, University Hospital and independent physician practice groups.

Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Team, based at UC College of Medicine, was founded in the 1980s to help local hospitals quickly diagnose and treat stroke and to pursue research into stroke prevention and treatment.