Stroke Program

The Stroke Program at Washington Health offers the most current approach to treating stroke patients, using the latest technology with a coordinated Stroke Team. The program not only offers patients high-quality, effective treatment for an acute stroke, but also provides patients, their families, and the community at large the tools necessary to become better informed about how to stay as healthy as possible. 
Washington Health’s Stroke Program has been awarded the Gold Performance Achievement Award as part of the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) Get With The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) program, a national evidence-based initiative to improve stroke patients’ outcomes. The ASA program recognizes hospitals across the country whose stroke treatment programs have shown consistent compliance with measures proven to improve outcomes. 

Based on the high quality of care and management of strokes we provide, Washington Health has been certified as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and designated the receiving center for strokes in Southern Alameda County. What does this certification mean to patients in the Tri-City Area? It means that their care has been thought out from the moment emergency medical services respond, to after they leave the Hospital and begin the recovery process.

To become an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, Washington Health had to meet strict requirements set down by the Joint Commission, which included:

• Building specialized stroke care units staffed by specially trained stroke nurses
• Employing special order sets and making sure standard protocols were in place
• Training for every employee involved in stroke care, from radiology to lab work
• Developing a program for a comprehensive Community Education Series focusing on prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and life after stroke
• Launching a stroke support group following patients’ recovery from stroke
• Providing special neuroscience education to hospital staff, local emergency medical services personnel and students focusing on stroke

The Stroke Program at Washington Health has also earned the prestigious Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. The Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification is based on the recommendations for primary stroke centers published by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association's guidelines for stroke care.

Under the leadership of co-medical director Jack Rose, MD and Prabhjot Khalsa, MD our program focuses on every facet of stroke management, from emergency room to discharge; the multidisciplinary team of experts will assist all your needs from disease management, risk reduction, physical, occupational and speech therapy, to gaining a good understanding of your stroke and what it will take for an optimal recovery and secondary prevention.