The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services has certified Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center as a Primary Stroke Center, based on Lourdes advanced capabilities and protocols for the rapid and effective diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients, announced Alexander J. Hatala, President and CEO of the Lourdes Health System. Lourdes is one of just six hospitals to earn this designation in New Jersey.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of more than 160,000 people each year; it is also a leading cause of long-term disability. Each year over 700,000 people suffer a stroke. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds in the U.S. and dies every 3.1 minutes.

"The treatment of stroke patients requires a coordinated and rapid response," said Lisa Shultz, M.D.., a board certified neurologist who is also medical director of the Lourdes Stroke Program. "Our program provides for a complete continuum of care ranging from stroke education and prevention through emergency, inpatient and rehabilitation care services."

Lourdes Stroke Center meets the Primary Stroke Center criteria by having a specially-trained, multi-disciplinary acute stroke team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to see patients within 15 minutes. Lourdes also has around-the-clock neuro-imaging capabilities such as a state-of-the-art 64-Slice computerized tomography (CT) scanner and neurosurgical services.

Primary Stroke Centers must also be staffed by physicians and nurses with advanced training in stroke care, and provide their own emergency department personnel - as well as area EMTs - with special training in how to quickly assess and start appropriate care for stroke victims. At Lourdes, board certified neurologists and neurosurgeons are on call at all times and physicians in its Emergency Department are board certified in emergency medicine.

In addition, Primary Stroke Centers must offer rehabilitation services. Lourdes Regional Rehabilitation Center, a "hospital within a hospital" located on the Lourdes campus, holds the highest accreditation available for acute rehabilitation programs by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and offers a full range of services to help stroke patients recover including physical, occupational, speech and psychological therapy.

In October, A HealthGrades study of hospital quality in America has identified Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center as the best in southern New Jersey, and among the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation, for treatment of stroke. According to The Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, Lourdes also received the 2008 HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence AwardTM, along with five-star ratings in stroke treatment for the fifth consecutive year.

A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack" and occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, damaging the brain.

Warning signs of stroke can include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and sudden, severe headache with no known cause.