Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has been certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV GL – Healthcare, the international gold standard in recognizing the highest level of treatment for complex stroke cases.

The Mission Hills hospital’s stroke program has long been recognized by Los Angeles County emergency medical services as a comprehensive stroke center, a destination for ambulances that bypass other hospitals to reach this highest level of care. The DNV designation validates the expertise and highly reliable quality care that is being provided to these vulnerable patients.

“Our stroke team is a leader in providing complex interventional care and has worked hard to earn this designation,” said Bernard Klein, M.D., Providence Holy Cross chief executive. “From arrival in the emergency department, to evaluation and quick intervention to rehabilitation as needed, we often see our most serious stroke patients leave the hospital in excellent condition just days after a stroke.”

“What a gift to our community!” Chief Nursing Officer Jodi Hein, RN, DNP, added in congratulating the team for its leadership and hard work.

Providence Holy Cross leads the county in the number of thrombectomies – the minimally-invasive procedure performed by neuro-interventionalists to remove potentially deadly blood clots from the brain. A “code stroke” alerts the team of experts across the hospital to gather within minutes to assess and provide treatment.

Certification by the Norway-based DNV GL – Healthcare Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification is based on standards set forth by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association, and affirms hospitals address diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and education and establishes metrics to evaluate outcomes.

“What this means for our patients is that we are more than capable to provide the best treatment for the most complex stroke patients,” said Judy Bravo, clinical manager for the hospital’s stroke program.

By earning accreditation, Providence Holy Cross has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DNV’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation.

“We have taken an entirely different approach to accreditation, and hospitals are really responding,” says DNV Healthcare USA Inc. President Kelly Proctor. “Since accreditation is a must-have credential for just about every hospital in this country, why not make it more valuable, and get more out of it? That’s where ISO 9001 comes into play and turns the typical get-your-ticket-punched accreditation exercise into a quality transformation.”

Two other Providence hospitals in Southern California have earned this accreditation – Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica.