There are currently 384 certified Primary Stroke Centers in the nation. PBMC is the second hospital in Maine to have achieved this certification. 

“This is one of the most important advances at PBMC in how we are able to treat patients in our community who have suffered a stroke,” said Dr. Dana Goldsmith, Vice President, Medical Affairs, PBMC. “Being a nationally recognized stroke center means that we have been certified to treat stroke victims at the very highest standard of care. This can certainly lead to improvements in the outcome of what can often be a devastating disease.” 

Over the past two years, PBMC neurologists Dr. Robert Stein, Dr. Judd Jensen, Dr. Bruce Sigsbee, and Stroke Center Coordinator Eileen Hawkins, RN, MSN, CNRN, have collaborated with community members and staff from all points in the healthcare continuum to meet the Joint Commission’s standards and guidelines. They worked to establish a system of stroke care that is guided by best-practice standards and is already delivering benefits to the midcoast community.  The Stroke Center additionally focuses on continuous quality improvement and stroke awareness and education.   

The initial certification period for Primary Stroke Center certification is two years.  Recertification is granted when the Stroke Center demonstrates continual compliance with standards set forth by the Joint Commission.  The Center is additionally required to provide the Joint Commission with monthly data reports.  These reports serve as springboards for ongoing process and quality assessment and improvement. 

“The Stroke Center has been the result of a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort on the part of many individuals throughout our healthcare system,” said Stein.  “The Stroke Center is not a physical place but rather a system of care that attempts to coordinate the care from the EMS service through the hospital to rehabilitation if needed.  Our goal is to achieve the best possible care.” 

PBMC cares for approximately 175 to 200 patients with stroke each year. The PBMC Stroke Center helps ensure that the hospital continues to make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke patients through improved efficiency of patient care, fewer post stroke complications, increased use of acute stroke therapies, improved long-term outcomes, reduced costs and increased patient and family satisfaction.  

In addition, specific community benefits of the Joint Commission’s accreditation include the strengthening of confidence in the quality of care, the reduction of risks in the administration of care, ongoing evaluation of stroke patient care and the strengthening of patient safety efforts. 

 “This certification is external verification by a national accrediting organization that patients in our community are getting the best possible care for strokes,” said Roy Hitchings, FACHE, President and CEO, Pen Bay Healthcare. “We are also working very hard to educate our community about how to prevent strokes and how to quickly recognize the symptoms of a stroke so that patients can receive timely care. Dr. Rob Stein and Eileen Hawkins have done an outstanding job in leading this effort, and we are very thankful to them.” 

Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of healthcare accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in healthcare organizations. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare.