Lakewood Hospital Receives Three Gold Seals of Approval™

By demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission‘s national standards for healthcare quality and safety, Lakewood Hospital has earned the Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ in three areas: the advanced primary stroke center, heart failure and stroke rehabilitation.  

The review of the three programs took place in September after an on-site evaluation by the Joint Commission. The reviewers conducted interviews with staff and patients while assessing processes and ability to improve patient care. The Gold Seal of Approval™ demonstrates Lakewood Hospital’s dedication to achieving the Commission’s high standards. "Lakewood Hospital has made exceptional efforts to promote better outcomes for patients in all levels of stroke care and heart failure," says Janice G. Murphy, RN, BSN, MSN, FACHE, president of Lakewood and Fairview Hospital. "These certifications confirm the staff has gone above and beyond the standard efforts to effectively provide critical care elements necessary to achieve long-term success. They wholeheartedly deserve this advanced recognition."

Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today. "In stroke care, time is brain," says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, the Joint Commission. "By achieving certification as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, Lakewood Hospital has proven that it has the ability to provide effective, timely care to stroke victims and can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients."

The Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital at Lakewood Hospital, which is part of system-wide comprehensive rehabilitative care for stroke patients, recently expanded to 35 patient beds. "We were pleased to achieve this certification," said Dan Shamir, MD, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospital at Lakewood Hospital. "This confirms what we have known all along, that Lakewood Hospital is at the forefront of providing acute stroke rehabilitation to the western communities of Greater Cleveland and should be the facility of choice for anyone who needs stroke rehabilitation."

Developed in collaboration with the American Heart Association, the certification in heart failure recognizes that Lakewood Hospital is making exceptional efforts to promote better quality of care and outcomes for heart failure patients.

"Lakewood Hospital voluntarily pursues the comprehensive, independent evaluation for disease specific care," said Deb Small, RN, BSN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer of Lakewood and Fairview hospitals. "We’re thrilled to achieve all three distinctions."

The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification Program, launched in 2002, is designed to evaluate clinical programs across the continuum of care. Certification requirements address three core areas: compliance with consensus-based national standards; effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care; and an organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities.