Happy Birthday: Stroke Centers Celebrate Five Years of Fantastic Growth

In October 2002 employees at Brookdale, Flushing, and Jamaica hospitals witnessed the beginnings of a new unit. As part of a pilot program organized by the Department of Health, the three hospitals were selected to open Stroke Units to treat patients who were specifically directed to their facilities by ambulance providers in the NYC 911 system.

Five years later, the hospitals are designated New York State Stroke Centers (officially designated in 2004) and treat approximately 1,000 combined patients each year.

“In just five years, we have accomplished so much,” explained Cira Hartley, Clinical Nurse Manager at Jamaica Hospital’s Stroke Unit. “We are simply thrilled about this milestone and so proud of the care we have been able to provide to our patients.”

Since the unit’s inception, Jamaica Hospital has treated more than 1,600 patients, 97 of whom were successfully treated with t-PA, a drug that dissolves blood clots obstructing blood flow to the brain.

The hospital has also received an award for Excellence in Stroke Care from Health Grades, in addition to maintaining a LOS (length of stay) below the national LOS for the past three years.

Brookdale and Flushing hospitals have seen similar success.

Flushing Hospital has treated approximately 700 patients since 2002, while Brookdale Hospital has seen 1,843 patients. Brookdale was previously awarded an Excellence in Stroke Care from Health Grades.

All three hospitals work immediately and aggressively to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment for patients who have suffered a stroke, also known as a “brain attack.”

According to Dr. Arthur Kay, the hospitals utilize state-of-the art diagnosis and gold standard therapy to ensure timely evaluation and treatment of patients with an acute stroke. The optimal goal for our network of hospitals is to improve the outcome and quality of life for our patients.