University Hospital in London. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)University Hospital in London. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

LHSC accredited with exemplary care for stroke patients

The London Health Sciences Centre is one of several southwestern Ontario hospitals being recognized for providing patients with high-quality stroke care.

Accreditation Canada, a non-government body that evaluates Canadian hospitals to ensure national standards are met, has given the LHSC's University Hospital Clinical Neurological Sciences program Stroke Distinction designation. The designation recognizes that LHSC has demonstrated impeccable delivery of stroke care, meeting the criteria of Canadian Stroke Best Practices with Heart and Stroke Canada.

"Being accredited with Stroke Distinction validates the commitment of our staff and physicians in providing safe and high-quality care to our patients,” said University Hospital President Cathy Vandersluis in a statement released Monday. "Stroke patients at LHSC benefit from our exemplary care and research."

During the accreditation process, a team of surveyors visited the hospital to review processes and observe care. According to LHSC, all frontline staff, nurses and doctors were involved in the preparation of the survey. The hospital was evaluated in five areas including, standards, protocols, key quality indicators, excellence and innovation and client and family education.

LHSC said Accreditation Canada commended University Hospital's neuroscience program for its "extensive research" relating to the fields of stroke emergency and hyperacute and acute intervention and highlighted several successes during its review such as:

• Making the Network a truly integrated system of care • Successfully forging partnerships with patients and families • Raising public awareness about stroke care throughout the region • Nurturing "passionate and caring" stroke teams • Providing discipline-specific networks to support best practices

University Hospital was recognized with nearly a dozen partners in the Southwestern Ontario Stroke Network (SWOSN) including Bluewater Health in Sarnia, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Owen Sound Hospital, Stratford General Hospital, Parkwood Institute in London, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, the Ouelette Campus with Windsor Regional Hospital and Woodstock Hospital. Each hospital was evaluated individually and each achieved a Stroke Distinction.

According to SWOSN, stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in Canada, and the third leading cause of death. Only one quarter of those who suffer a stroke make a full recovery, while 60 per cent are left with some form of disability while 15 per cent result in fatalities.

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