Comprehensive Stroke Center

Gold Seal of Approval

As a recognized Comprehensive Stroke Center, the University of Chicago Medicine has all the critical elements to deliver high-quality medical care to achieve the best long-term outcomes for people affected by stroke. In addition, our unique expertise in neurointensive care differentiates us from other stroke centers and allows our team to provide exceptional care to patients with brain hemorrhages and other life-threatening severe strokes.

Gold Plus Award

Hospitals receiving the Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care for two consecutive calendar years, as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated 75 percent compliance to four out of 10 heart failure quality measures or seven out of 10 stroke quality measures during a 12-month period.

High Performing in Stroke

According to U.S. News & World Report's 2023-24 Rankings

Our goal is to fully support patients along their entire journey from stroke to recovery, both while they’re in the hospital and after they have left. We provide the following resources to patients to make their transitions as seamless and safe as possible:

• Remote patient monitoring (RPM). Stroke patients are sent home with a tablet that provides stroke education and videos on how to appropriately conduct and track various screenings. The RPM device tracks the daily results of their blood pressure, depression and swallow screenings, as well as glucose levels for patients with diabetes. If the results of any of these tests are outside normal parameters, then a specialized nurse will follow up by phone to assess if any interventions are needed.
• Community health workers work with patients who are discharged to their homes and assist these patients with follow-up appointments and stroke education. They ensure patients are taking medications appropriately, monitoring their vital signs and using the remote patient monitoring tablet correctly. Community health workers also make sure each patient has access to food and a safe home environment.
• Population health care coordination nurses work with patients who are discharged to a post-acute rehabilitation center to ensure these patients have follow-up appointments with the appropriate providers and are receiving the care they need from their rehab facility.

The UChicago Medicine Heart-Brain Clinic provides specialized treatment options and preventive care for patients with heart conditions that increase their risk of stroke.

Our patients are cared for in designated stroke units equipped with the latest medical technology for stroke care. This includes our neurointensive care unit, one of the most reputable clinical programs in this field in the country.

Our team is always available for rapid evaluation and treatment of patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular problems. UChicago Medicine is one of the few major medical centers in the region with an acute stroke care team that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We strive to continuously improve the quality of care for our stroke patients. To maintain certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, our facility voluntarily undertakes a regular thorough evaluation by The Joint Commission. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization that certifies nearly 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.

Achieving Joint Commission certification means that our staff has made an extra effort to review and improve the key areas that can affect the quality and safety of your care. Below you will find some of our key quality measures that are reviewed by the Joint Commission.

Source: Publically Reported Data retrieved from American Heart Association's "Get with the Guidelines"

*Based on internal data sources; data not available for other institutions