August 4, 2005

Mercy Earns Reputation for World-Class Stroke Care

Using advanced technology and expertise along with exacting standards for clinical care, Mercy Medical Center—Sioux City is waging a serious, rigorous battle against stroke, the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in Siouxland.

Mercy’s reputation for world-class care and capabilities and outstanding clinical outcomes have positioned the hospital among the best stroke centers in the region – if not the nation. As a result, Mercy is Siouxland’s first choice for stroke care.

Earlier this year, Mercy became the first hospital in the region to earn national certification as a stroke center from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care.

Mercy earned the “Gold Seal of Approval” for stroke care after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review last December, and became the first hospital in Iowa, Nebraska or South Dakota to receive the prestigious distinction.

In their official report announcing Mercy’s national certification in stroke care, JCAHO reviewers wrote, “Leadership is evident in the multidisciplinary care provided (at Mercy).”

“The collaboration and coordination is excellent. The Emergency Department and stroke team members are committed to rapid access, assessment and decision-making. The patient is the focus of all care provided throughout the continuum of care. The centralized, patient-focused care delivery is evident in every department involved in stroke care. The importance of community education continues to be in the forefront of the program,” the report stated.

Mercy’s stroke patients receive care from a highly coordinated team of healthcare professionals including regional EMS providers, referring physicians, emergency physicians, radiologists, neuroradiolgists, neurologists, neurosurgeons,neuropsychologists, physiatrists, advanced neuro-trained nurses, certified rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, social workers, dietitians, clergy, and home care specialists.

“It is very much a team effort,” explains Deb Motz, coordinator of the Mercy Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Staff members in nearly every department of the hospital contribute to extraordinary care.”

“It is that coordinated, multidisciplinary approach that makes us so successful in treating stroke. And, the Joint Commission’s program certification is proof that our approach to stroke care is exceptionally effective — much to the benefit of our patients and the community,” Motz adds.

Dr. Jennifer Pary, a neurologist in practice with the Center for Neurosciences, Orthopaedics & Spine (CNOS) and medical director for the Mercy Comprehensive Stroke Center, says Mercy is fully committed to excellence in stroke care.

“Siouxland residents should know that Mercy is a center of excellence for the care of patients with stroke,” Pary explains. “The hospital delivers care based on the latest evidence-based medical guidelines. Patient care is seamless from one department to the next.”

With expertise in the early identification of the stroke, Mercy’s trauma teams stand ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Appropriate treatment, including the administration of the clot-busting drug tPA and neurosurgery, when needed, can offer patients suffering a stroke the best possible recovery.

Patients who have suffered a stroke receive specialized care in Mercy Medical Center’s Stroke Care Unit, where dedicated, specially trained personnel provide expert care utilizing the most sophisticated medical technology and resources.

An experienced, board-certified team of physiatrists, therapists and nurses from Mercy Rehabilitation Services, the area’s only in-patient rehabilitation program fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), work together to help patients rebuild their lives after suffering a stroke.

On top of JCAHO stroke center certification just a few months ago, physicians and medical researchers around the world are now reading and contemplating a medical research study that originated at Mercy Medical Center—Sioux City after its recent publication in the prestigious Archives of Surgery, a specialty journal published by the American Medical Association.

The July 2005 journal article, “Carotid Endarterectomy in Nonagenarians,” was authored by Neurosurgeons Dr. Quentin Durward, Dr. Thorir Ragnarsson, Dr. Ralph Reeder, and Neurologists Dr. James Case and Dr. Christopher Hughes. All are in practice with the Center for Neurosciences, Orthopaedics & Spine, PC, (CNOS), in Dakota Dunes.

The leading edge research suggests carotid endarterectomy (CEA), surgery to remove plaque buildup in the carotid arteries, can be effective in patients age 89 and older.