On Wednesday and Thursday, March 13 through 14, 2019, The Joint Commission will be at Cooper as part of our biennial recertification site survey. In June 2017, the Joint Commission, after a site survey, awarded Cooper its Certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, which is given to a select group of hospitals nationally that are providing an exceptional level of expertise in stroke care.
During this upcoming site survey, Bethann Mercanti, PA-C, Stroke Program Coordinator, will serve as the survey lead. There will be two teams with each surveyor from The Joint Commission.
The Joint Commission surveyors will review units involved in the care of our stroke patients, including, but not limited to:
- The Emergency Department
- Intensive Care Unit
- Pavilion 7 Stroke Unit
- Neuro-Interventional Cath Lab on Kelemen 4
The surveyors may ask any Cooper employee (clinical or non-clinical personnel) stroke-related questions, such as stroke recognition and Stroke Team activation policies. Surveyors may also visit different nursing units where stroke patients are not usually admitted.
We kindly ask you to help with preparation for this visit by familiarizing yourselves with the signs and symptoms of stroke (click here for FAST refresher), knowing how to activate the Stroke Team, and ensuring that your areas are survey ready. In the upcoming days, we will reach out individually to certain departments within the hospital with high likelihood of being surveyed (ED, Speech Therapy, Cath Lab, etc.) to ensure that proper stroke care protocols are in place and are being followed.
Our last site survey showed an exceptional level of commitment to our stroke patients by each one of you, and we are convinced that this survey will not convey anything different. On behalf of the entire Cooper Neurological Institute and the Cooper Stroke Team, we want to thank you for your ongoing dedication and teamwork enabling us to achieve the highest level of certification for stroke care for our patients.