Scripps Encinitas Receives Advanced Primary Stroke Center Recertification from The Joint Commission

Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas has earned advanced recertification for its primary stroke center. This advanced certification demonstrates Scripps Encinitas’ commitment to stringent national quality standards and critical elements for significantly improving outcomes for its patients.

This certification also signifies to the community that the services provided by Scripps Encinitas meet the unique and specialized needs of stroke patients.

The Joint Commission advanced certification represents Scripps Encinitas’ broader spectrum of stroke care from the emergency department through rehabilitation. Emergency stroke code protocols, neuro-intervention trained physicians, specially stroke-trained nursing staff, and outpatient therapy programs designed to help patients with reintegration into the community all represent the full continuum of care available for stroke patients at Scripps Encinitas.

Scripps Encinitas has its Advanced Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center distinction, while four of the five San Diego County Scripps Health hospital campuses — including Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Mercy Hospital — are designated as Primary Stroke Centers. Plans are underway to earn this distinction for Scripps Mercy Hospital’s Chula Vista campus.

The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association’s statements and guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program in 2003 and in 2006, Scripps Encinitas was the first primary stroke center to be certified in North San Diego County.

Effective January 1, 2010, certified primary stroke centers are required to collect and report on eight National Inpatient Hospital Quality Measures for stroke, and submit them quarterly to The Joint Commission. To achieve the advanced certification, a hospital must follow the standards, demonstrate compliance with established guidelines for rapid treatment of stroke, provide training for staff caring for stroke patients and evaluate performance with the eight Stroke Measures.

“Certification as an advanced primary stroke center informs our community that we have the physicians, staff, technology and quality of service available to care for them 24/7,” says Thomas Chippendale, MD, board-certified neurologist and stroke director at Scripps Encinitas.

Stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, with someone suffering a stroke every 45 seconds. There are approximately 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.

Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas is one of five acute care hospital campuses in the Scripps Health system, a non-profit health care organization based in San Diego, California. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Scripps was named one of 100 Best Companies to Work For by Fortune magazine.

Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas is North San Diego County’s first certified primary stroke center, first World Health Organization designated Baby Friendly Hospital in San Diego, and the only CARF-accredited Brain Injury program in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside counties.

Scripps Encinitas offers a full-range of clinical and surgical services, including 24-hour emergency services; intensive care; cancer/oncology; orthopedics; neurology; urology; ophthalmology; a Level II neonatal nursery; award-winning ob-gyn and maternal and infant health services; and an ambulatory surgery center.

With more the 650 physicians, almost 1,500 employees and 148 beds, Scripps Encinitas has served the growing communities of San Diego’s North County since 1978.