Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Receives Advanced Primary Stroke Center Recertification

August 9, 2021

Cheyenne, WY—The Joint Commission recently recertified Cheyenne Regional Medical Center as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center.

Receiving Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification means that CRMC has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for stroke care.

“This Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol of quality that reflects a healthcare organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care,” said Cheyenne Regional Health System President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Thornell. “In this case, it means that our hospital has demonstrated to a nationally recognized accrediting organization that we provide high-quality stroke care. Since this is our second Primary Stroke Center certification, it also shows that we have been providing an exceptional level of stroke care over a period of several years.”

The Joint Commission first certified CRMC as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center in 2019.

Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification recognizes healthcare organizations that provide stroke-focused clinical programs across the continuum of care. The certification process evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care and how those organizations educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge from the hospital.

“I am extremely proud of our stroke care team,” said Dr. Tracie Caller, a neurologist with Cheyenne Regional Medical Group and the medical director of Cheyenne Regional’s stroke care program. “It took an incredible amount of work and documentation to obtain the advanced certification two years ago. To be recertified shows that our stroke care team is dedicated to providing and sustaining a high level of stroke care, treatment and education for our community and region.”

The most recent certification required that CRMC undergo a rigorous on-site review by Joint Commission surveyors, who evaluated the hospital’s compliance with stroke treatment standards of care and requirements, including program management, delivery of clinical care and performance improvement. The review included on-site observations and interviews of the stroke care team. The review took place in March 2021.

“The certification recognizes hospitals that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care,” said Hope Robinson, Cheyenne Regional’s stroke care program manager. “This includes having an acute stroke care team available around the clock, a neurologist accessible 24/7 via telemedicine or in person, sufficient diagnostic services and the ability to provide IV thrombolytics. The hospital must also track, monitor and report stroke-related performance measures.”

Advanced certification for Primary Stroke Centers is awarded for a two-year period to Joint Commission-accredited acute-care hospitals.

“Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” said Mark Pelletier, The Joint Commission’s chief nursing executive and the Commission’s Accreditation and Certification Operations chief operating officer. “We commend Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for stroke patients.”

About The Joint Commission

An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare.