AtlantiCare's City, Mainland campuses earn Comprehensive, Primary Stroke Center certifications

For Immediate Release: August 18, 2023

The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® reflects commitment to providing safe, quality care

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC) Atlantic City Campus, home of AtlantiCare’s Neurosciences Institute, has once again earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Heart-Check mark for Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification. This is the fourth consecutive time that the campus has earned certification, which reflects healthcare organization’s commitment to providing safe, quality patient care.

This comes on the heels of the Joint Commission’s recertification of ARMC’s Mainland Campus in Pomona, NJ as a Primary Stroke Center in 2022, a designation that campus has achieved eight consecutive times since 2008. The Joint Commission develops its standards in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients.

“Earning this certification demonstrates our experienced team’s dedication to saving brains and lives,” says David Stidd, M.D., MS, endovascular neurosurgeon and co-medical director, AtlantiCare Stroke Program. Our Acute Stroke Team and our broader AtlantiCare team provide the most advanced, comprehensive care to diagnose and treat the most complex strokes. They do so 24/7, from the scene of a patient’s stroke to well beyond the patient’s discharge from the hospital.”

“Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification recognizes health care organizations committed to fostering continuous improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Deborah Ryan, MS, RN, interim executive vice president, Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission. “We commend ARMC for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for stroke patients.”

“We congratulate ARMC for this outstanding achievement,” says Nancy Brown, chief executive officer, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “This certification reflects its commitment to providing the highest quality of care for stroke patients.”

ARMC’s Atlantic City Campus had a rigorous Joint Commission onsite review in May that resulted in the recertification. The Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with related certification standards including:

• Certified endovascular neurosurgeons are available 24/7 to provide neurosurgical intervention for stroke patients
• An acute stroke team with training and expertise in stroke treatment is available 24/7 to evaluate any patient within fifteen minutes of arrival
• The hospital has a dedicated neurological intensive care unit with specially trained staff
  
  

“In addition to caring for stroke patients, we focus on improving quality of life for members of our community by lowering the risk of stroke,” says William Adams, D.O., co-medical director, AtlantiCare Stroke Program. “This includes increasing awareness about prevention, detection, and treatment. If you or a loved one is experiencing stroke symptoms, remember that time is brain. Call 911 immediately to get timely care. Our Emergency Medical Services paramedics can begin treatment in the field as they communicate with our hospital team. Refrain from driving yourself or a loved one to the hospital.”

For more information about AtlantiCare’s Comprehensive and Primary Stroke centers, visit AtlantiCare’s website or call the AtlantiCare Access Center at 1-888-569-1000. For additional information, visit The Joint Commission website.

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AtlantiCare is an award winning integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose team of more than 6,000 serves the community in over 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Committed to an innovative approach to providing best in the industry care, AtlantiCare’s vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time. Learn more at atlanticare.org or 1-888-569-1000.