Saint Francis Healthcare has earned the Advanced Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA). The certification signifies the hospital meets standards for performing mechanical endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), a specialized surgical procedure used to remove a blood clot from the brain during an ischemic stroke.

To be eligible for the certification, the hospital was required to meet strict guidelines that included performing EVT on a minimum of 15 patients in the past year or 30 patients in the past two years, and the capability to perform EVT around the clock, seven days a week. The hospital's primary neurointerventionalists - the physicians who routinely perform emergency mechanical thrombectomy - also must meet the highest standards of subspecialty training.

"With the recent advances in endovascular therapies for acute ischemic stroke, it's important to recognize hospitals which can perform this critical intervention safely and effectively, and we commend Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis on this designation," said Edward C. Jauch, MD, chair of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Hospital Accreditation Stroke Subcommittee. "The TSC certification helps pre-hospital providers better understand hospital stroke capabilities and assist in regional EMS triage of stroke patients so that the patient gets to the right hospital for the right treatment."