Stroke Center Certification on MENA region WSO/MENASINO
Certification of stroke centers is critical to ensure that hospitals implement and monitorall priority evidence-based strategies that change the natural history of stroke, reducing mortality and disability. It is a great opportunity for continuous improvement of services and qualification of comprehensive care in the region, with the commitment of stroke centers as organizers and trainers of the entire local network.
Purpose
The purpose of the stroke centers certification program is to increase the quality of stroke care in MENA Region with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for stroke patients.
After fulfilling the criteria, we will encourage the hospitals to apply for certification as WSO/MENASINO Stroke Centers. The certification of stroke centers is a priority step to guide national stroke care by applying evidence-based pathways covering the entire chain of care. Therefore, we will work together with each country’s Medical Societies and Health Managers (Ministries of Health/ Health Secretaries).
This program is designed to guarantee the implementation of priority elements in stroke centers, increasing the quality and safety of stroke care and improving long-term outcomes. With a team of stroke experts, we will offer suggestions for improving services, materials for team training, continuing education, scientific publications, in addition to the international certification published on our website and in the application that will be available to the population. We hope that in the future the certification will also lead to better reimbursement for health services.
Tools
The WSO/MENASINO certification is based on the WSO Roadmap for Quality Stroke Care. The roadmap is a resource that provides the framework for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of stroke services globally. It provides standardization and consistency for the selection of evidence-based recommendations, approaches to implementations in clinical practice, and the utilization of performance measures to create an environment of continuous quality improvement.
The Roadmap classifies the services in 3 levels: 2 stroke centers (Essential and Advanced) and 1 Minimal healthcare services for areas with low access to doctors and resources for stroke care. It suggests the resources and protocols to be implemented at each level. The goal is to achieve as many checkmarks as possible in the roadmap check-list to provide the highest possible level of stroke services.
For the WSO/MENASINO Certification the Executive Committee defined the mandatory criteria to each level of stroke center and the proportion of elements available in the center needed to obtain the certification (according to all resources listed on the roadmap).