Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital earns Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center certification

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Oct 4 2019

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is one of only two Michigan hospitals to earn a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 22,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States. To earn this certification, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital met all requirements for the Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center certification, plus these additional requirements:

• Minimum mechanical thrombectomy volume requirement of 15 or more per year.
• Ability to perform mechanical thrombectomy 24/7.
• Dedicated intensive care unit beds to care for acute ischemic stroke patients.
• Availability of staff and practitioners closely aligned with Comprehensive Stroke Center expectations.
• A process to collect and review data regarding adverse patient outcomes following mechanical thrombectomy.

Earning this certification from The Joint Commission is a symbol of our deep commitment to providing the most effective treatments, as quickly as possible, for our stroke patients. Recent studies have shown the efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusive ischemic strokes. It is critically-important to have a dispersed network of certified hospitals, so patients can receive the care they need.”

Hebah Hefzy, M.D., medical director of the Stroke Program at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally-invasive procedure in which a neuro-interventional physician uses continuous x-ray imaging to guide specialized instruments through a patient’s arteries to reach and extract a clot. Currently, only one-third of Joint Commission certified Primary Stroke Centers perform mechanical thrombectomy.

“The Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center Certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, R.N., M.S., chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for Stroke patients.”

The Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center certification was developed as part of a collaboration between The Joint Commission and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

While advancements in stroke care, like mechanical thrombectomy, have led to better outcomes for patients in recent years, stroke remains the leading cause of disability among U.S. citizens, and the fifth leading cause of death in the country. Every 40 seconds on average, an American will have a stroke, meaning approximately 795,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke annually.