Primary Stroke Center

Primary Stroke Center

Top Rated Advanced Advanced Certified Primary Stroke Center

Encino Hospital Medical Center is certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center and recognized by the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award; GWTG Target: Stroke Honor Roll. This means that Encino Hospital’s Stroke Program has met the national standards for safety and quality of care – confirming that it has the personnel, procedures, and facilities to deliver high-quality stroke care in timely manner.

Residents in the community and nearby communities can live in the comfort of knowing that a hospital with specialized services for stroke treatment is nearby.

With Stroke, Every Second Counts

Rapid diagnosis and treatment of a stroke is critical and can minimize life-long complications. Encino Hospital’s team of stroke specialists, EMTs, emergency department staff, and inpatient clinical staff understand this urgency and are at the patient’s bedside within minutes. Care for patients is coordinated at the moment of first contact through rehabilitation. Part of our commitment to delivering high-quality stroke care is to have a neurologist available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Encino Hospital’s Stroke Center provides comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic care for patients with stroke and related disorders.

Stroke Rehabilitation

Yes, care for stroke begins in the Emergency Department after an individual recognizes the symptoms and calls 911. However, rehabilitation is an important piece to the puzzle. Encino Hospital’s Acute Rehabilitation Unit is designed to help patients who suffered a stroke or another type of brain injury regain their highest level of function so they can return home and re-enter the community.

Click here to learn more.

Patient Corner

What is a stroke?

A stroke is a “brain attack” and occurs when a blood vessel that carries blood (and oxygen) and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot (ischemic stroke) or ruptures (hemorrhagic stroke). Because the blood and nutrients cannot get to the brain, brain cells die.

Per the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every 4 minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

What are the warning signs of a stroke?

FAST is an easy way to remember and identify the warning signs of a stroke. Recognizing these symptoms and quickly calling 911 will determine how fast someone will get help and treatment. Getting to the hospital as quickly as possible may lead to a better recovery time.

Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Is there arm weakness? Does one arm drift downward?

Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

Time: If you see any of the signs, call 911 immediately.

What are the causes and risk factors of stroke?

Stroke can happen to anyone at any age, but there are certain risk factors that can increase your chance of getting a stroke. Some of these risk factors include:

  • family history of stroke or a personal history of stroke or heart attack
  • high blood pressure
  • diabetes
  • high cholesterol
  • circulation problems
  • atrial fibrillation
  • smoking
  • lack of physical activity

To learn more about these and other risk factors, click here

Our Commitment to Quality

Encino Hospital’s Stroke Program is designed to be responsive to the patient’s needs as well as deliver the highest standard of quality care. Patients can rest assured knowing that the care provided is managed to meet their unique and specialized needs.

Encino Hospital complies with the guidelines instituted by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association. This ensures stroke patients receive treatment that meets nationally accepted, evidence-based standards and recommendations. By complying with these processes, Encino Hospital can significantly improve outcomes for its stroke patients, resulting in a reduction of risks of other adverse events that require emergency care or hospitalization.

Approved Stroke Center

In 2016, Encino Hospital Medical Center became an Approved Primary Stroke Center resulting in Emergency Medical Services transport suspected stroke patients directly to Approved Primary Stroke Centers instead of to the nearest hospital. Encino Hospital Medical Center is recognized as one of the highest quality stroke intervention facilities in the San Fernando Valley.

Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG)-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll

For the second year in a row, Encino Hospital Medical Center has been recognized for its high-quality stroke care. Care is measured against national standards set by GWTG program. To be recognized as Gold Plus, Encino Hospital Medical Center performed well in reducing stroke-related death and disability, and for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll, we met the requirements to reduce the time between the patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the life-saving clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only U.S. FDA approved drug to treat ischemic stroke.