For the first time, Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow and NGMC Braselton have been certified as Primary Stroke Centers by DNV GL Healthcare. The accreditation service recently recertified NGMC Gainesville.
“Our health system continues to prove that it is dedicated to ensuring stroke patients in our region are offered the best care close to home,” says Dr. Sung Lee, NGMC’s medical director of Neurointerventional Surgery. “With three of our hospital campuses now certified as Primary Stroke Centers, patients can rest assured that if they arrive with stroke symptoms, they will receive quick care from a skilled and passionate team.”
Primary Stroke Center certification means that a hospital can provide treatment to a broad range of stroke conditions along with some acute therapies, and admit patients to a designated stroke unit specifically assigned for stroke care. Primary Stroke Centers also act as a resource center for other facilities in the region, including being a main transfer site for stabilized stroke patients.
“We work hard to make sure our community is educated on the signs and symptoms of stroke,” says Tina Johnson, Stroke Program Coordinator at NGMC Barrow. “That way, if someone sees a person suffering a stroke, or feels like they’re suffering one themselves, they know exactly what to do and where to get treated.”
Before their certification, NGMC Barrow and NGMC Braselton were designated Remote Treatment Stroke Centers by the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Along with NGMC Gainesville’s recertification, the hospital recently completed construction on a new, state-of-the-art Neurointerventional Lab, furthering its stroke treatment with the ability to perform mechanical thrombectomies. In this type of minimally-invasive procedure, specialized equipment is used to remove a clot from a patient’s artery.
“Time is of the essence when it comes to stroke,” says Tracie Withington, Stroke Program Coordinator at NGMC Braselton. “We’ve worked diligently to ensure that we provide stroke care in a timely manner and now, being recognized as a Primary Stroke Center, patients can trust that even more.”
