MedStar Health Achieves Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification

MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center elevates stroke care to highest standard.

BALTIMORE— MedStar Health has enhanced its stroke care capabilities at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center (MFSMC) by achieving a Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC) designation from The Joint Commission, and the Maryland Institute of Emergency Management Service Systems (MIEMSS), effective December 2023. This prestigious certification recognizes MedStar Franklin Square’s exceptional ability to provide advanced stroke care for the most complex cases and is of MedStar Health’s three Comprehensive Stroke Centers in the system.

The CSC certification is awarded to hospitals that meet stringent requirements in stroke care capabilities, infrastructure, and expertise. The rigorous evaluation process tests the hospital’s capacity to handle comprehensive stroke care, including 24/7 availability of specialized clinicians, excellent quality of care, and cutting-edge technologies.

“Achieving a Comprehensive Stroke Center designation requires a commitment from all levels of the organization, along with a skilled and experienced team of clinical providers who understand and apply proven best practices,” said Elliot Dawson, MD, chair of the department of Neurology at MedStar Franklin Square. “It’s no small task. What we have developed here in a very short amount of time is an accomplishment for everybody involved. It’s a major milestone not only for the hospital and the community, but for MedStar Health and the state.”

A comprehensive stroke center must meet high standard criteria established by the code of Maryland regulations, including:

• Acting as a resource center for other facilities in its region or state.
• The readiness of emergency department clinical staff to evaluate any patient with stroke-like symptoms, within 10 minutes of arrival.
• Individualized plans of care based on the patient’s assessed needs; coordination of care with other programs, as determined by patient co-morbidities.
• One or more acute stroke teams which respond to the emergency department with coordinated services for the effective delivery of emergency and acute stroke treatment.
• An acute stroke team comprised minimally of: (1) A board-certified or board-eligible physician with special competence in caring for the acute stroke in: (a) Neurology; (b) Critical care medicine; or (c) Emergency medicine; and (2) At least one additional health care provider, with experience in caring for the acute stroke patient, who may be:(a) An emergency physician; (b) A neurology resident or fellow; (c) An internist; (d) A registered nurse; (e) A physician assistant; or (f) A nurse practitioner.
• Interventional services available 24 hours a day with appropriately trained support staff and equipment, including: intra-arterial reperfusion therapy; endovascular treatment of vasospasm; endovascular ablation of arterial venous malformations; stenting/angioplasty of extracranial vessels; and stenting/angioplasty of intracranial vessels.
• Having a carotid duplex ultrasound, transcranial ultrasonography, transesophageal or transthoracic echocardiogram.
• The stroke center medical director shall be a board-certified or board-eligible physician with competence in neurology; neurosurgery; or vascular neurology.
• Neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuro-interventionalists, neuro-radiologist, Neuro-intensivists, and vascular surgeons.

MedStar Health’s ongoing achievements in stroke care and the MFSMC designation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, reflect its commitment to advancing stroke care excellence, ensuring the community receives the highest standard of life-saving interventions and compassionate support.

For more information about MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center’s Comprehensive Stroke Center, click here.