Palmdale Regional Medical Center announced that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers.
Dr. Kamran Parsa shares the treatment Palmdale offers and why the quality of care sets Palmdale apart from other hospitals.
Selected Podcast
Primary Stroke Designation
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Kamran Parsa, DO
Kamran Parsa, DO
Kamran Parsa, DO., is a Neurosurgeon and a member of the Medical Staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center.Learn more about Kamran Parsa, DO
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Palmdale Regional Medical Center announced that it has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for primary stroke centers. Here to tell us what that means is my guest, Dr. Kamran Parsa. He’s a neurosurgeon and a member of the medical staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Dr. Parsa, what is this award, Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for primary stroke centers and the fact that this is being given as well by the Joint Commissions Gold Seal of Approval. Tell us what that means for Palmdale?
Dr. Kamran Parsa (Guest): Hi Melanie again, so this is a victory for the community to have Palmdale Regional Medical Center to be awarded and designated as a primary stroke center. What this means is that Palmdale now – or Palmdale Hospital was able to put together all the requirements to achieve this, basically the gold standard certification, which includes having a designated stroke unit, stroke trained nurses, stroke trained physicians, stroke trained response teams, have neurosurgeons on standby, have neurologists on standby, this is an extensive team approach, multidisciplinary approach as well to obtain this prestigious designation in order to provide the latest and most advanced care for stroke patients.
Host: So what differs this award from some of the others? Is it a level higher or next level up, Dr. Parsa?
Dr. Parsa: It is. At this time there are steps you have to go through with the American Heart Association and more importantly the Joint Commission to show them that you are working towards obtaining this designation, so they have silver awards and then gold awards and each have their different steps. None of the prior steps – none of the steps prior to achieving the gold certification qualifies you really to being a true stroke center. Once you’ve gone through the steps, you’ve passed an extensive list of checkmarks that they require, then you’re actually certified and now up to standard or beyond standard to provide the appropriate care for stroke patients coming to Palmdale.
Host: How hard is it to achieve? Tell us about some of the criteria.
Dr. Parsa: It’s difficult, the best way I can put it. The reason being is it requires a lot of coordination and training and data collection. So for example, the Joint Commission will set out goals to meet criteria to meet that are rigid and backed by evidenced based medicine. So to do this, you can’t have one neurosurgeon or one neurologist or one nurse put this together. It has to be a collaboration between the administration supporting a large stroke team with its coordinators, directors, and have the medical staff and physicians onboard have regular weekly meetings to meet such goals and criteria, collect data, go back, correct any mistakes, train staff, retrain staff, and this is not a 6 month project. This has been going on for 2.5 to 3 years to be able to build it together, prove that we not only meet standards, we exceeded the standards set by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association. So it’s extensive but we’re pleased that we passed it with flying colors and now we have – it’s an excellent option for patients in the community to have the appropriate care and best care for stroke.
Host: Tell us really what this means for patients as you’re having these meetings, and obviously as you said, Dr. Parsa, a very difficult designation to achieve. So what can patients expect from a stroke center such as this should they be someone or a loved one suffering a stroke?
Dr. Parsa: They should expect the best. As you said, it’s their loved one or their best friend or sometimes even yourself and you want to know that you’re receiving the best care, and I think that’s what the expectations should be, nothing short of excellent. So coming to Palmdale we’ve – by achieving this certification, we’ve proven that we meet the criteria for excellence that the national standards have set essentially. Our numbers exceeded those standards, and I’m also the stroke director at the hospital, my constant communication with the team is to always supersede these expectations that the national standards have set up. I consider them as a benchmark and our goal is to always surpass it. So if any family member or patient does not have the optimal outcomes that we’re looking for, we always flag scenarios, go back into the meeting, see if everything was done correctly, and even if it was done correctly, what could we have done better? So these are constant review and improve processes that we undertake at Palmdale to provide the best care.
Host: Dr. Parsa, as we wrap up, and this designation validates your hospital’s practices to ensure the highest level of quality for all of your patients, what would you like listeners to take forward and take from this segment that you would like them to know about the importance of this recognition as Palmdale’s Stroke Center?
Dr. Parsa: This is a big win I think for the community. Palmdale is a rapidly expanding community and as such, by achieving this designation, not only do we – is it good for the physician, something to be proud of that we were able to achieve this, but more importantly in my mind is that now we are providing the standard, plus – I would say better than the standard care to the community and they can – the community can rest assured that they are receiving essentially the best care.
Host: Thank you so much Dr. Parsa for coming on and explaining this very important distinction that sets Palmdale Regional Medical Center apart. Thank you again for joining us. You’re listening to Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. For more information, please visit palmdaleregional.com, that’s palmdaleregional.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole, thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): Palmdale Regional Medical Center announced that it has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for primary stroke centers. Here to tell us what that means is my guest, Dr. Kamran Parsa. He’s a neurosurgeon and a member of the medical staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Dr. Parsa, what is this award, Heart Check Mark for Advanced Certification for primary stroke centers and the fact that this is being given as well by the Joint Commissions Gold Seal of Approval. Tell us what that means for Palmdale?
Dr. Kamran Parsa (Guest): Hi Melanie again, so this is a victory for the community to have Palmdale Regional Medical Center to be awarded and designated as a primary stroke center. What this means is that Palmdale now – or Palmdale Hospital was able to put together all the requirements to achieve this, basically the gold standard certification, which includes having a designated stroke unit, stroke trained nurses, stroke trained physicians, stroke trained response teams, have neurosurgeons on standby, have neurologists on standby, this is an extensive team approach, multidisciplinary approach as well to obtain this prestigious designation in order to provide the latest and most advanced care for stroke patients.
Host: So what differs this award from some of the others? Is it a level higher or next level up, Dr. Parsa?
Dr. Parsa: It is. At this time there are steps you have to go through with the American Heart Association and more importantly the Joint Commission to show them that you are working towards obtaining this designation, so they have silver awards and then gold awards and each have their different steps. None of the prior steps – none of the steps prior to achieving the gold certification qualifies you really to being a true stroke center. Once you’ve gone through the steps, you’ve passed an extensive list of checkmarks that they require, then you’re actually certified and now up to standard or beyond standard to provide the appropriate care for stroke patients coming to Palmdale.
Host: How hard is it to achieve? Tell us about some of the criteria.
Dr. Parsa: It’s difficult, the best way I can put it. The reason being is it requires a lot of coordination and training and data collection. So for example, the Joint Commission will set out goals to meet criteria to meet that are rigid and backed by evidenced based medicine. So to do this, you can’t have one neurosurgeon or one neurologist or one nurse put this together. It has to be a collaboration between the administration supporting a large stroke team with its coordinators, directors, and have the medical staff and physicians onboard have regular weekly meetings to meet such goals and criteria, collect data, go back, correct any mistakes, train staff, retrain staff, and this is not a 6 month project. This has been going on for 2.5 to 3 years to be able to build it together, prove that we not only meet standards, we exceeded the standards set by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association. So it’s extensive but we’re pleased that we passed it with flying colors and now we have – it’s an excellent option for patients in the community to have the appropriate care and best care for stroke.
Host: Tell us really what this means for patients as you’re having these meetings, and obviously as you said, Dr. Parsa, a very difficult designation to achieve. So what can patients expect from a stroke center such as this should they be someone or a loved one suffering a stroke?
Dr. Parsa: They should expect the best. As you said, it’s their loved one or their best friend or sometimes even yourself and you want to know that you’re receiving the best care, and I think that’s what the expectations should be, nothing short of excellent. So coming to Palmdale we’ve – by achieving this certification, we’ve proven that we meet the criteria for excellence that the national standards have set essentially. Our numbers exceeded those standards, and I’m also the stroke director at the hospital, my constant communication with the team is to always supersede these expectations that the national standards have set up. I consider them as a benchmark and our goal is to always surpass it. So if any family member or patient does not have the optimal outcomes that we’re looking for, we always flag scenarios, go back into the meeting, see if everything was done correctly, and even if it was done correctly, what could we have done better? So these are constant review and improve processes that we undertake at Palmdale to provide the best care.
Host: Dr. Parsa, as we wrap up, and this designation validates your hospital’s practices to ensure the highest level of quality for all of your patients, what would you like listeners to take forward and take from this segment that you would like them to know about the importance of this recognition as Palmdale’s Stroke Center?
Dr. Parsa: This is a big win I think for the community. Palmdale is a rapidly expanding community and as such, by achieving this designation, not only do we – is it good for the physician, something to be proud of that we were able to achieve this, but more importantly in my mind is that now we are providing the standard, plus – I would say better than the standard care to the community and they can – the community can rest assured that they are receiving essentially the best care.
Host: Thank you so much Dr. Parsa for coming on and explaining this very important distinction that sets Palmdale Regional Medical Center apart. Thank you again for joining us. You’re listening to Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. For more information, please visit palmdaleregional.com, that’s palmdaleregional.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole, thanks so much for listening.