CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial in Lufkin continues to recognize the dire need for high level stroke care, and as the first and only Joint Commission Certified Primary Care Stroke Center in East Texas, the hospital once again earned the National Gold Seal of Approval for Stroke Care, highlighting Memorial’s commitment to outstanding, quality care.
Memorial’s Primary Care Stroke Center program was originally certified in 2010 through the success of the East Texas Stroke Initiative. The initiative was funded through the T.L.L. Temple Foundation and aimed to decrease the number of strokes in East Texas through a widespread community education program and advanced treatment modalities, while helping to restore quality of life for those who have suffered a stroke.
CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial underwent a rigorous onsite review for the voluntary re-certification process. Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement. It was determined Memorial continued to achieve the strict criteria maintained by the national organizations specifically earning the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.
“CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial has thoroughly demonstrated the greatest level of commitment to the care of stroke patients through its Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers,” said Michele Sacco, M.S., interim executive director, Certification Programs. “We commend Memorial for becoming a leader in stroke care providing a higher standard of service for stroke patients in its community.”
The certification, which occurs every two years, demonstrates that Memorial’s stroke program meets critical elements of performance to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients.
“We congratulate CHI St. Luke’s Health for achieving this designation,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “By adhering to this very specific set of treatment guidelines Memorial has clearly made it a priority to deliver high quality care to all patients affected by stroke.”
Located in what is known as the “Stroke Belt” of the United States, residents in Lufkin and the surrounding deep East Texas region suffer from an elevated number of strokes each year. Stroke prevalence, incidence and mortality rates are currently higher than the national average.
“The certification provides us with the opportunity to highlight the exceptional stroke care we provide as well as to continually strive to advance our care even further,” said Shawn Barnett, CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial Chief Operating Officer and Lufkin President.
Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
About CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial
Memorial provides more than a quarter of a million patient services each year and has a longstanding history of providing quality, innovative health care in East Texas.
With hospitals in Lufkin, Livingston, San Augustine and Memorial Specialty – the area’s only long-term acute care hospital – CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial provides millions of dollars in charity care and community support each year. Our mission is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church, supported by education and research. Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we create healthier communities.
Memorial offers a wide array of services, including the area’s first dedicated heart and stroke care facility and radiation oncology at the Temple Cancer Center. It is also known for the area’s only comprehensive diabetes, heart and stroke education center. Other specialty areas include imaging, orthopedic care, women’s services, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, homecare, wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, kidney & diabetes treatment, sleep disorders treatment and express lab.
About Catholic Health Initiatives
Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed in 1996 through the consolidation of four Catholic health systems, expresses its mission each day by creating and nurturing healthy communities in the hundreds of sites across the nation where it provides care. One of the nation’s largest health systems, Englewood, Colo.-based CHI operates in 19 states and comprises 105 hospitals, including four academic health centers and major teaching hospitals and 30 critical-access facilities; community health-services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home-health agencies; and other facilities that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care.
In fiscal year 2014, CHI provided $910 million in charity care and community benefit – a nearly 20% increase over the previous year – for programs and services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. Charity care and community benefit totaled more than $1.7 billion with the inclusion of the unpaid costs of Medicare. The health system, which generated revenues of almost $13.9 billion in fiscal year 2014, has total assets of $21.8 billion. Learn more at www.catholichealthinitiatives.com.
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