The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has designated Mercy Hospital a certified Primary Stroke Center. Mercy Hospital was the first hospital in Miami-Dade County to receive this designation. Only 10% of all the hospitals in the United States are Primary Stroke Centers. Mercy Hospital’s stroke program has met stringent requirements and has demonstrated that the program follows national standards and guidelines in order to significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients.

The program is made up of a highly trained multidisciplinary stroke team that includes clinical nurse specialists, a quality manager, neurologists, rehabilitation physician, emergency room physicians, bedside nurses and physical therapists. As part of its commitment to provide the community with the best possible stroke care, Mercy’s stroke team is available on-site 24 hours a day. This designation demonstrates Mercy’s commitment in providing quality healthcare services to its community.

The Center offers a Stroke Support Group, which covers all topics related to stroke and socialization. The group meets the 3rd Thursday of every month from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the Kohly Center for Outpatient Rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital. For more information, including dates, times and location, please call (305) 285-2966.

Stroke is the third cause of death in the United States and nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. For more information on stroke symptoms, risk factors and statistics, please visit www.strokeassociation.org.

The Primary Stroke Center at Mercy Hospital is the proud recipient of the HealthGrades Excellence Award for Stroke Care in 2003-2009, HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award™, and Patient Safety Excellence Award™ HealthGrades is the nation’s leading provider of independent, objective healthcare ratings.