The Joint Commission today awarded HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts its Stroke-Specific Care Certification. The hospital earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ for healthcare quality for its Stroke Rehabilitation Program.

"We voluntarily pursued the Joint Commission to evaluate our stroke rehabilitation programs because we wanted to ensure our quality of care,” said Adnan Dahdul, M.D., Medical director of HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts. "Achieving this certification shows patients and referring physicians that we are the best when it comes to providing rehabilitative services for our stroke patients."

To earn this certification, our stroke rehabilitation programs underwent an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers. The programs were evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of the program’s processes, the program’s ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization and interviews with patients and staff.

"Our focus is to serve the needs of the Western Massachusetts community," said Scott Keen, chief executive officer at HealthSouth Western Massachusetts. "Each day, our staff works to provide a differentiated level of care and offer services that get patients back on their feet and functioning in their communities. We are thrilled to receive this endorsement from the Joint Commission."

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission provides certification of disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. For more information on The Joint Commission and its certification programs, visit www.jointcommission.org.

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