Poudre Valley Hospital’s stroke program has been re-certified for the next two years as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center.
“It’s a great feeling to wake up in the morning and know we can make a difference,” says Georgie Knaub, nurse educator on Poudre Valley Hospital’s neuro unit. She is shown here treating a stroke patient.
The re-certification, required every two years, was done by the Joint Commission after a review of the program at the Fort Collins, Colo., hospital. PVH got the good news Oct. 9 that it had been re-certified.
Poudre Valley Hospital is just one of two Primary Stroke Centers north of the Denver metro area. Boulder Community Hospital is the other. University of Colorado Hospital, part of the University of Colorado Health system that includes PVH, is also an Advanced Primary Stroke Center.
The re-certification at PVH is due to successful patient outcomes and the high quality of physicians, nurses and other staff members involved in the stroke program, as well as streamlined processes that treat stroke victims rapidly, particularly through a stroke alert program.
Put in place five years ago, the stroke alert program has saved lives and preserved the functioning of stroke victims in northern Colorado. The program is also in place at University of Colorado Health’s other northern Colorado hospital, the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. (Learn more about the PVH and MCR stroke programs.)
Georgie Knaub, nurse educator on PVH’s neuro unit, said the stroke program has changed the way work is done at the two northern Colorado hospitals.
“Now,” Knaub pointed out, “there are interventional tactics we can do to lessen the impact of stroke. When all the steps in the system fall into place, we can significantly improve patient outcomes. It’s inspiring to watch stroke patients walk out of here and go back to doing what they love to do.”
–Kevin Unger, Poudre Valley Hospital president
Poudre Valley and the University of Colorado were instrumental in my treatment when I experienced a bleeding stroke in February 2010. Congratulations on this well-deserved re-certification!