Danbury Hospital and Norwalk Hospital have each earned Advanced Certification for Primary Strokes Centers.  The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.

Danbury Hospital Stroke Program Coordinator Heather Duggan says Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.  On average, Duggan says someone suffers a stroke in the United States every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes.

Duggan says people don't recognize the symptoms of a stroke and it really needs to be treated as a medical emergency.  People should use the acronym is FAST.  Look for FACIAL weakness by having someone smile, ARM weakness by extending their arms, see if they have slurred SPEECH and, if any of those are found, it's TIME to call 911.

Danbury Hospital and Norwalk Hospital were evaluated for compliance with stroke-related standards and requirements, including program management, the delivery of clinical care and performance improvement.

Danbury Hospital is a Joint Commission Center of Excellence in four additional Disease-Specific areas - Palliative Care, Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement, and Spine Surgery.