UMass Memorial Medical Center programs earn health agency approval

Photo | Grant Welker UMass Memorial Medical Center has earned top marks from The Joint Commission for its stroke center and a heart treatment program.

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UMass Memorial Medical Center has earned top approval ratings from a national health industry group for its stroke care and ventricular assist device programs, it said Wednesday.

The Joint Commission, an Illinois organization that reviews and accredits hospitals, gave its gold seal of approval to UMass Memorial's Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center. The certification is given in collaboration with the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

Dr. Brian Silver, the interim chair of the neurology department, said the certification came after a dedicated and collaborative effort by hundreds of people across departments and services to provide stroke care.

The ventricular assist device program also won a gold seal of approval, giving it UMass Memorial's first program to receive a disease-specific care certification. VAD, as it's called, is an implanted mechanical circulatory support system for those whose heart muscle can no longer pump blood effectively through the body. The technology is meant to extend and improve quality of life, including for those who've had heart failure or are awaiting a heart transplant.

Both programs received the top certification for the first time. The certification is good for two years.