MetroHealth CH provides acute stroke care

MetroHealth's Cleveland Heights campus.

The MetroHealth Cleveland Heights Medical Center Emergency Department is certified as a Stroke Ready facility by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc.

The Emergency Department staff at Cleveland Heights is recognized for the level of initial care it provides stroke victims. The advanced teams can rapidly recognize the signs of stroke, diagnose a stroke and begin treatment, providing the highest level of acute stroke care to patients close to where they live and work.

Heart disease and stroke kill more people in the United States than all types of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined, according to the American Heart Association.

MetroHealth was the first hospital in Northeast Ohio to earn Primary Stroke Center certification and grew to become a Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in 2014. Receiving stroke treatment at a certified stroke center greatly increases your chance of surviving a stroke.

MetroHealth’s complete stroke services—including comprehensive stroke rehabilitation— have met rigid criteria designed by the American Stroke Association and American Heart Association. Patients with the most complex strokes are brought to MetroHealth Medical Center, which offers advanced imaging capabilities and specialized treatments.

“The faster that stroke care is administered, the better the outcome,” said Jon Schrock, M.D., FACEP, an emergency medicine physician. “These certifications let neighborhoods know that if they or someone near to them is having a stroke, calling 911 will take them to the right place for their care quickly.”

MetroHealth is the only health system in the area to have all four of its Emergency Departments stroke certified.

“We have put a lot of time and training in so that we better serve the communities where we are located,” Schrock said. “This is care you cannot get at an urgent care or another free-standing emergency department.”

There’s a lot you can do on your own to help lower your risk for a stroke. Quit or don’t start smoking; stay physically active; maintain a healthy weight and diet; get plenty of sleep; and know your numbers (cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, etc.).

Knowing the tell-tale signs of a stroke—sudden loss of balance, vision loss, face drooping or numbness on one side, weakness or numbness in one arm or leg, slurred speech or inability to speak—is crucial, but it’s not enough. Getting to a stroke certified emergency department can improve the chances of you or a loved one surviving a stroke.