SYRACUSE — Upstate University Hospital has earned certification as a “comprehensive stroke center” from Milford, Ohio–based DNV GL Healthcare Inc. (DNV), a hospital accreditation organization.

DNV notified Upstate of the designation Jan. 16, and the hospital held a ceremonial event to acknowledge the certification on Jan. 20. 

DNV Healthcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norway–based Det Norske Veritus, a global organization with 8,600 employees in more than 100 countries.

The designation reflects the highest level of care and treatment that hospitals can provide for serious stroke events.

Upstate University Hospital is the only hospital in Central New York to earn such a designation from DNV for its stroke care, according to a Jan. 20 news release from the hospital. 

Kaleida Health in Buffalo is the only other hospital in New York state that DNV has designated as a comprehensive stroke center. 

The certification is a “great honor” because it is a “long process,” says Dr. Julius Gene Latorre, medical director of the stroke program at Upstate.

“We started gathering our data sometime between September and October. And that’s the data from the last year or so. And then we applied in November,” says Latorre. He spoke with CNYBJ on Jan. 30.

A hospital has to demonstrate that it has data indicating that it’s taking care of patients, he adds.

“You have to show that you are … monitoring the quality of care that you deliver and that you’re able to continue providing the quality care that you’re able to evaluate your performance,” says Latorre.

In its evaluation, a hospital has to find out if it executed the care of the stroke patient properly, if it was “appropriate,” and did the care “benefit the patient or not,” says Latorre.

“For Upstate to be certified as a stroke center, it’s kind of like a stamp of approval that we are doing a very good job,” he says.

The comprehensive stroke center designation, the “highest-level” designation available, Upstate said, signifies that it “meets the most exacting standards” for treating the “most complex” stroke cases at any time.

“…Most importantly, this comprehensive designation underscores the team approach that Upstate takes to treating stroke. From EMS providers to nurses, to pharmacists to surgeons, to technicians and social workers, all of these highly trained medical professionals mobilize at the first notification that a patient is en route with a possible stroke,” Dr. John McCabe, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, said in the hospital’s news release

Meeting guidelines

Hospitals must meet dozens of guidelines to receive the DNV’s comprehensive stroke center designation, according to Upstate. 

They must document rapid assessment of stroke patients in the emergency department and administer clot-busting drugs within 60 minutes, says Latorre.

Hospitals also must have a specific stroke team in place, consisting of neurologists and neurosurgeons, diagnostic radiologists, and other critical-care specialists within 10 to 15 minutes, he adds.

They must also complete diagnostic tests within 60 minutes of patients’ arrival to the emergency department and must have special imaging available and complete CT scans for candidates treated with tPA within 45 minutes. tPA is short for tissue plasminogen activator, which is the only treatment for ischemic strokes that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved, according to the website of the American Heart Association.

In addition, hospitals must have a dedicated Neuro-ICU (intensive care unit) staffed with board-certified physicians in neurocritical care and must provide rehabilitation, physical therapy, and speech services, Upstate said.

Hospitals must also maintain community programs to educate public on stroke-prevention efforts and warning signs and symptoms of stroke.

They must participate in clinical research aimed at improving stroke care of patients.

An interdisciplinary stroke committee oversees Upstate’s stroke care, the hospital said. The committee includes staff from neurology, neurocritical care, neurosurgery, emergency department, area EMS providers, radiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, laboratory services, neuroscience nursing, cardiology, pharmacy and spiritual care, according to Upstate.

Accreditation and certification in health care provide “much more than recognition,” Yehuda Dror, president of DNV Healthcare, said in the Upstate University Hospital news release. 

“These programs help establish standards of excellence and best practices that directly impact patients’ lives,” he said.