At Lovelace Medical Center, we are proud to offer a 12-bed dedicated stroke unit with 24/7 neurology and neurosurgery coverage.

If you are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms of stroke, you should call 911 immediately, even if the symptoms cease on their own.

• Sudden weakness, paralysis or numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden onset of double vision, dimness or loss of vision
• Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding language
• Sudden severe headache without apparent cause
• Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or loss of balance, especially in combination with other signs

All of these symptoms could be related to other conditions, so it is IMPORTANT that proper diagnosis and treatment is received. If it is a stroke, the best chance for recovery is to receive treatment within the first three hours after onset of symptoms.

Early Intervention is Key

What's done in the first minutes or hours after a stroke may determine the level of recovery the person will achieve. Lovelace Medical Center TREATS EVERY INCOMING STOKE PATIENT AS AN EMERGENCY. Patients arriving in the emergency department experiencing stroke symptoms are evaluated for possible treatment with t-PA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator).

Lovelace Medical Center's Emergency Medicine Physicians have been trained in the assessment of acute stroke and work in collaboration with our highly trained neurologists

An Interdisciplinary Team

Lovelace Medical Center's highly trained Stroke Team is prepared with the skills and equipment necessary to expeditiously assess stroke symptoms and determine the proper immediate treatment.

Our expert Stroke Team, consisting of neurologists, with special training in stroke diagnosis and treatment, Emergency Department physicians, registered nurses, respiratory therapists and emergency department staff, provide immediate response which dramatically impacts a patient's successful recovery.

This team can be accessed 24/7 in response to the Emergency Department, as well as other hospital departments, for urgent patient assessment. Other members of the Lovelace Medical Center team include physical, speech and occupational therapists; dietitians; case managers and social workers. The team also relies on the excellent services of Lovelace Medical Center's lab, pharmacy and radiology departments.

Our Stroke Center Certifications

Being honored for excellent patient care is the best recognition a hospital can receive.

Lovelace Medical Center has earned the Joint Commission's "Gold Seal of Approval" for certification as a Primary Stroke Center. Additionally, Lovelace Medical Center has also been recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines program with a "Gold Plus award" for commitment to quality patient care.

These certifications recognize Lovelace Medical Center's ongoing dedication to excellent stroke care, but our greatest reward is serving our patients. That's why we're committed to turning treatment guidelines into lifelines.

Each year about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, which is the nation's third leading cause of death. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every 3.1 minutes. Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.

We earned these awards the same way we earn your trust:
By living our commitment to Excellence… Always!

After undergoing an on-site evaluation and demonstrating compliance with nationally developed standards for stroke care, Lovelace Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™ for certification as a Primary Stroke Center.

The Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association's statements and guidelines for stroke care. The Joint Commission launched the program—the nation's first—in 2003. A list of programs certified by The Joint Commission is available at www.qualitycheck.org.

Because Joint Commission standards are regarded as the most rigorous in the industry, Joint Commission-certified disease management programs have demonstrated their commitment to providing quality care to their patients.

Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™ is a clear sign that certified programs have demonstrated compliance with the most stringent standards of performance.

The Get With The Guidelines award recognizes Lovelace Medical Center's commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

• 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines- Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals
• 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.
• These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

Lovelace Medical Center was also recognized as a recipient of the association's Target: Stroke Honor Roll, for improving stroke care.

• Over the past quarter, at least 50 percent of the hospital's eligible ischemic stroke patients have received tissue
• plasminogen activator, or tPA, within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital (known as 'door-to-needle' time).
• A thrombolytic, or clot-busting agent, tPA is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the urgent treatment of ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reverse the effects of stroke and reduce permanent disability.