McLeod Health recently received recertification affirming its hospitals are equipped to provide care to patients with stroke symptoms who seek life-saving treatment from the emergency department. The certification, granted by DNV GL Healthcare, designates McLeod Health hospitals as Acute Stroke Ready and McLeod Regional Medical Center as a Primary Stroke Center.

McLeod Health hospitals are some of the first in the state of South Carolina to become Acute Stroke Ready by DNV, a certification body that helps hospitals achieve excellence by improving quality and safety through hospital accreditation. The McLeod hospitals that achieved this designation include McLeod Health Cheraw, McLeod Health Clarendon, McLeod Health Dillon, McLeod Health Loris and McLeod Health Seacoast. McLeod Regional Medical Center was recertified as a Primary Stroke Center by DNV. McLeod was the first hospital in the region to be named a certified Primary Stroke Center in 2014.

“This certification is an acknowledgement to our community that we have the resources and commitment to provide the best possible stroke care,” said Dr. Ravish Kothari, Medical Director of Stroke Services for McLeod Regional Medical Center. “It is a combination of the right equipment, personnel and training to quickly assess and treat strokes. As Acute Stroke Ready hospitals and a Primary Stroke Center, we have the ability to administer intravenous clot busting medicine.”

Acute Stroke Ready hospitals are designed to be part of a larger stroke system of care. For any stroke patient needing ongoing care after the initial treatment that care would be provided within the McLeod Health system at the Primary Stroke Center, McLeod Regional Medical Center.