For patients experiencing a stroke, every minute counts, and proximity to specialized care can have a major impact on their recovery and overall outcome. Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital has re-affirmed its ability to deliver that level of time-critical, high-quality care, following its recent two-year re-certification as a Primary Stroke Center from the Joint Commission — while doing so with zero requirements for improvement (RFIs), a rare distinction even among nationally accredited stroke programs.
This achievement is the latest milestone in Chestnut Hill Hospital's drive to expand access to exceptional care since joining Temple Health in 2023, part of a broader pattern of investment and clinical expansion that has brought academic specialists, new services, and more advanced care to the Northwest Philadelphia community.
“Our mission for the Stroke Program at Temple Health is to prevent, diagnose, and treat strokes by providing the highest standard of care,” said Michael Mullen, MD, the director of Temple Health’s Stroke Program and an associate professor of neurology at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine. “We are proud to have earned this recertification from the Joint Commission and to continue our work supporting the communities we serve.”
Receiving no requirements for improvement “shows the strength of Temple Health’s interdisciplinary stroke care and validates that we are performing at the highest level, according to the highest regulatory agency in stroke care,” said Tom Capella, MSN, RN, the nursing director of Temple Health’s Stroke Program.
Primary Stroke Center certification
The Joint Commission evaluates hospitals regularly to ensure they meet the highest standards of patient care and safety. The independent organization awards Primary Stroke Center, or PSC, certification to hospitals that are “providing the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients,” based upon “the quality of care” that is being provided.
Upon evaluation, Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital was found to meet all the rigorous standards set forth by the Joint Commission. These include the use of performance data to analyze and improve processes; meeting quality-improvement guidelines from the American Heart Association; standardizing care to reduce variation and improve reliability; and ensuring staff maintain educational competencies.
“The surveyor commented that this was only the fifth time in their 16-year career that no RFIs were given,” Capella said.
Momentum at Chestnut Hill Hospital
Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital is one of three Joint Commission-certified stroke centers in the Temple Health system, alongside Temple University Hospital-Main Campus, designated a Comprehensive Stroke Center and TUH-Jeanes Campus, also a Primary Stroke Center.
This recertification builds on other recent investments at the hospital. In June, Temple Health opened added new multidisciplinary practice on the Chestnut Hill campus, expanding access to specialists from Temple Faculty Physicians (TFP) including endocrinology, rheumatology, and ophthalmology. The hospital has also grown local access to care from Temple Lung Center, the Heart & Vascular Institute, the Urologic Institute, and Fox Chase Cancer Center, providing patients in the community with access advanced academic care options closer to home.