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Our Lady of the Lake Heart and Vascular Institute was named Baton Rouge’s first comprehensive stroke center by The Joint Commission, the hospital recently announced.
The hospital received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification after an on-site review in June 2024. This distinction recognizes hospitals that can quickly and accurately treat the most complex strokes and provide better outcomes for patients.
Reviewers evaluated the hospital’s program management, patient safety, rehabilitation, and how it delivers and coordinates clinical care. The reviewers also conducted on-site observations and interviews. Sixty days later, the hospital was named the first and only comprehensive stroke center in the region.
Receiving this certification means the hospital is the only provider in the Capital Region certified to treat all levels of complex strokes and has the staff and technology to approach different strokes with varying methods. It is the highest level of certification a hospital can receive for stroke care.
The hospital’s average monthly “door-to-needle” clot-busting treatment time for stroke patients is under 30 minutes, among the fastest times in the state. It offers 24/7 stroke care for clot retrieval and coiling procedures (approaching the aneurysm from inside the blood vessel) during hemorrhagic stroke and has a dedicated neurocritical care team in the ICU. The hospital has a 60-minute goal to retrieve a blood clot from a stroke patient, says Dr. Mark Laperouse, medical director of emergency services for OLOL.
On average, the hospital sees about 2,000 stroke patients a year. Per month, more than 150 stroke alerts are made in the emergency department. Stroke alerts happen when anyone comes into the emergency room with stroke symptoms that have started within 24 hours or less from the time they arrive.
“Time is very important with this disease process,” says Amy Booth, OLOL stroke program manager. “The more awareness and understanding the community has, they can act on that and bring those patients to our facility for treatment, especially if they come in early.”
By the beginning of next year, the comprehensive stroke center plans to launch a stroke support group for anyone who has experienced a stroke or has a family member who has had a stroke.
