PORTLAND, Maine - The Joint Commission awarded the Gold Seal of ApprovalTM for stroke care to New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland (NERHP). The hospital is one of only a few stroke rehabilitation programs in the country, and the only rehabilitation hospital in Maine, to earn the Gold Seal of ApprovalTM and to receive Disease-Specific Care Certification by the Joint Commission.

To earn this distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers. The program is evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of a program's processes, the program's ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization and interviews with patients and staff.

"This certification means New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland does the right things and does them well for stroke patients," says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission.

In addition, NERHP, a joint venture between Maine Medical Center and HealthSouth, is one of only 18 hospitals in HealthSouth's nationwide network of more than 90 rehabilitation hospitals to be recognized as a Stroke Rehabilitation Center of Excellence. The Stroke Rehabilitation Center of Excellence internal recognition program highlights the accomplishments of HealthSouth hospitals that have exceeded established benchmarks in clinical programming and patient outcomes for the treatment of stroke.

"Experience in working with stroke patients is critical to achieving excellent patient outcomes," says Amy Morse, CEO of NERHP. "The side-effects from stroke are not always visible; many times they are cognitive resulting in behavioral changes, which make it hard for family members to cope."

HealthSouth Stroke Rehabilitation Center of Excellence programs employ treatment teams of specially trained clinicians in the areas of physical, occupational and speech therapies, in addition to rehabilitation nursing. NERHP stroke teams meet with the patient and family to obtain input for the plan of care. They provide discharge planning and continuing education initiatives to stroke patients in the form of vocational and community re-entry education, transitional living, home evaluations and therapeutic home visits. Stroke support groups are also available to patients and families.