Expertise to treat the most complex strokes
MedStar Washington Hospital Center was the first hospital in Washington, D.C. to be designated by the Joint Commission as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Now, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center offer Comprehensive Stroke Centers accredited by The Joint Commission. Together we have been treating stroke patients for more than 20 years and care for 4,000 stroke patients each year.
We understand the urgency and have the expertise to treat the most complex strokes.
Comprehensive Stroke Center designation requires a commitment from all levels of the organization, along with creation of a skilled and experienced team of clinical providers who understand and apply proven best practices.
Why choose us?
Being named a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and the Maryland Institute of EMS Systems (MIEMSS) is the highest level of designation that can be achieved.
Because time is of the essence in treating stroke, our experts are trained to provide rapid, excellent care by making stroke a priority. In addition, we have rapid response teams that evaluate patients and set in motion specific procedures to diagnose the cause of the stroke.
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Our Mission
For our communities, we commit to provide access to the highest standard in healthcare, from one day to the next. We aspire to be widely recognized by our medical neighborhood as the preferred center for comprehensive neurologic care.
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Growth
To keep pace with the needs of our community, our Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center’s notable growth milestones include:
- Our helipad opened in March 2020 and was built largely in response to the growth of our neurosciences program. Since its construction, there has been a progressive increase in helicopter in/out traffic year over year.
- Our NeuroEndovascular Surgical Suite opened February 1, 2021 and has performed over 600 procedures since inception. For stroke cases, the average time to successful reperfusion is 27.2 minutes, with the fastest successful reperfusion occurring in 5 minutes.
- Our 15-bed Neuro-critical Care Unit opened in August 2021 and is usually at a high census, caring for a wide range of complex neurovascular disease, such as intracerebral/subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral aneurysms, and carotid stenosis.
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Stroke Volume
Since investing in the infrastructure required to support comprehensive stroke treatment, the stroke volume at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center has increased significantly. The data below is from 2022.
Patient type
# of admissions
Ischemic stroke
451
Intracerebral hemorrhage
80
Subarachnoid hemorrhage
37
Transient ischemic attack
30
Total
598
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Additional Stroke Performance Measures
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Diagnostic cerebral angiography
A Diagnostic Cerebral Angiogram is a procedure used to characterize the blood vessels of the brain with very high resolution. It involves placing a catheter into an artery and using X-Rays to navigate this catheter through the blood vessels supplying the brain. Because it is an invasive procedure, there is always a risk of potential complications, and the national benchmark for complications is <1%. Complication rates at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center for a Diagnostic Cerebral Angiogram are better than this national benchmark at <1%. -
Endovascular stroke thrombectomy
Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity in the US. Endovascular Thrombectomy is a cutting-edge procedure to physically remove blood clots in the brain and neck that can cause stroke. It is time-sensitive, and greater than 94% of patients treated at MFSMC had favorable cerebral reperfusion after obtaining a stroke thrombectomy, with our fastest recorded time from arterial access to successful reperfusion at 5 minutes. Symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation rate after thrombectomy was 5.3% in 2022. AHA Stroke Honor Roll
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center earned The Get with Guidelines -Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Advanced Therapy and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. Gold status indicates a stroke center consistently meets the achievement criteria for consecutive years.-
Carotid artery procedures
Narrowing and blockage of the carotid arteries supplying the brain can be a risk factor for stroke. Treating carotid arteries can be achieved through various procedures, such as carotid artery stenting, carotid endarterectomy, or transcarotid artery revascularization. For stroke patients that undergo one of these procedures, the 30-day complication rate, including new stroke or death, is expected to be <6%, nationally. MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center’s rate is 1.5%, which is well below the national average.The corresponding complication rate for asymptomatic patients is expected to be <3% for asymptomatic patients with carotid artery narrowing. MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center’s rate is 0%.
Medstar Franklin Square is compliant with core measures established by the joint commission and Maryland Institute for EMS Systems (MIEMSS) and tracks all relevant data. View Our publicly reported data for a variety of stroke core measures here (in the search field, choose Baltimore for the City and stroke for the disease state).
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Stroke National Performance Measures
Stroke performance measures Compliance rate* VTE prophylaxis by hospital day 2 99% Anti-thrombotic Medication at hospital discharge 100% Anticoagulation therapy prescribed at hospital discharge for patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter 100% Antithrombotic medication by end of hospital day number 2 100% Stroke education provided 95% Assessed for rehabilitation services 99%
*National Target Benchmark is above 85% compliance -
Additional stroke performance measures for procedures and interventions at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
- Serious complication rates for carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting are better than the national benchmark (<6% for symptomatic ICA stenosis and <3% for asymptomatic ICA stenosis).
- Serious complication rates for diagnostic cerebral angiogram are better than the national benchmark (<1%).
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Stroke National Performance Measures
Stroke performance measures Compliance rate* Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis 97.1% Antithrombotic prescribed at discharge 99.4% Anticoagulant prescribed at discharge for Afib 100% Thrombolytic given within 3 hours for acute stroke 96.9% Antithrombotic prescribed by day 2 95.6% Statin prescribed at discharge 99.6% Stroke education 95.9% Assessed for rehabilitation 99.3%
*National Target Benchmark is above 85% compliance -
Stroke Volume 2023
Patient type # of admissions Ischemic stroke 593 Intracerebral hemorrhage 188 Subarachnoid hemorrhage 93 Transient ischemic attack 94 Total 968 -
U.S. News Stroke Scorecard
MedStar Washington Hospital Center Overall rating High Performing Survival Excellent Discharge patients to home Excellent Number of patients Very High Avoiding overuse of carotid endarterectomy Excellent
Nurse staffing Very High Public transparency Yes
*Hospitals that earned a high performing rating were significantly better than the national average.Quality Indicators
- Survival: Relative survival 30 days after hospitalization for stroke, compared to other hospitals treating similar patients.
- Discharging patients directly to home: How often patients can go directly home from the hospital rather than being discharged to another facility. Recovery at home is preferred by most patients and families.
- Reperfusion therapy: Percentage of stroke patients treated with reperfusion therapy (Greater than 10% = Above average amount of therapy provided). This measure quantifies how often the hospital provided time-sensitive medical intervention such as intravenous tissue plasminogen activator or mechanical thrombectomy.
- Number of patients: Relative volume of Medicare inpatients age 65 and over who had this procedure or condition in 2015-2019. Higher volume is associated with better outcomes.
- Nurse staffing: More nursing care per patient is associated with better outcomes and better patient experience.
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Specialists: Whether the hospital has at least one adult intensive-care unit staffed by a doctor specifically certified or trained to care for ICU patients.
- Public transparency: Whether hospital publicly shared its stroke data through the American Heart Association. Hospitals participating in transparency programs foster sharing of data and adoption of best practices.
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Additional Stroke Performance Measures for Procedures and Interventions
Additional stroke performance measures for procedures and interventions at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (2023):
- Serious complication rates for carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting are better than the national benchmark (<6% for symptomatic ICA stenosis and <3% for asymptomatic ICA stenosis).
- Serious complication rates for diagnostic cerebral angiogram are better than the national benchmark (<1%).
Our locations
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MedStar Health: Comprehensive Stroke Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
3800 Reservoir Rd. NW 7th floor PHC Washington, DC 20007
MedStar Health: Comprehensive Stroke Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving St. NW Room 1A2 Washington, DC 20010
MedStar Health: Comprehensive Stroke Center at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
9000 Franklin Square Dr. Patient Care Tower, 2nd Floor Baltimore, MD 21237