ST. PAUL, MN -- (MARKET WIRE) -- February 1, 2007 -- St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul; St. John's Hospital in Maplewood; and Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury -- all members of the HealthEast Care System -- have earned the Gold Seal of Approval for stroke care. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has awarded these hospitals Primary Stroke Center Certification.
St. Joseph's, St. John's and Woodwinds (who were all certified in 2004 as the first multi-site health care system in Minnesota and the Twin Cities to receive this honor) earned this re-certification distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an onsite review in December. They remain the only hospital system in the state where all acute care sites have received certification.
"We're so proud of the work our team has done here to exceed national benchmarks and to provide treatment that has led to such outstanding patient outcomes," said Tess Sierzant, MS, CNRN, HealthEast neuroscience clinical nurse specialist. "This re-certification tells our community that they are just minutes away from the advanced technology, the highly trained professionals and the philosophy of compassionate, collaborative care that can maximize an individual's quality of life."
Sierzant also noted that in the past year, St. Joseph's Hospital has been selected as the first Upper Midwest site to host patient trials of a new minimally invasive stroke treatment device, further demonstrating the system's commitment to comprehensive, individualized treatment for stroke patients.
"These HealthEast hospitals demonstrated that their stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients," says Charles Mowll, executive vice president, Business Development, Government, and External Relations, Joint Commission.
HealthEast's fourth hospital, Bethesda, is a regionally recognized rehabilitation facility which works hand in hand with St. Joseph's, St. John's and Woodwinds to provide long-term care and rehabilitation services for stroke patients.
Each year about 700,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation's third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.
HealthEast Care System is a community-focused, non-profit health care system that provides innovative technology, compassionate care and a full spectrum of family health services. HealthEast includes Bethesda Hospital, St. John's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and Woodwinds Health Campus as well as outpatient services, clinics, home care, pharmacies and medical transportation services.
Practicing financial responsibility, HealthEast is the largest, locally owned health care organization in the Twin Cities' East Metro with 6,900 employees and 1,400 physicians on staff.
Contact Information: Contact: Lynn Sadoff Senior Public Relations Specialist St. Joseph's Hospital Member, HealthEast Care System 651-326-3590 (o) 651-864-1023 (p) 612-723-8991 (c)