Summa Health is an Award-Winning Stroke Specialist Hospital

Summa Health System – Akron Campus is the first hospital in the greater Akron region to be awarded the Comprehensive Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA). This certification means Summa Health meets the highest level of certification for hospitals with specific abilities to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases.

Also, Summa Health System – Akron Campus has been awarded the Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center (TSC) certification from The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA). The Joint Commission recognizes centers that make exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care. Achievement of certification signifies that Summa Health’s services provide the critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes. This certification shows that we meet the rigorous standards for performing mechanical endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), a specialized surgical procedure used to remove a blood clot from the brain during an ischemic stroke. Summa Health- Akron Campus is the first hospital in Ohio to be awarded this certification.

The Summa Health Stroke Care Center has been nationally recognized for earning the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Summa is the only hospital in the Akron area to have received the American Stroke Association Get with the Guidelines Gold Plus Award consecutively since 2010. The award recognizes our commitment and success in implementing quality stroke care, according to evidence-based guidelines.

In addition, since 2016 we also have been awarded for treating our patients faster than national benchmarks, achieving maximum recognition as Honor Roll Elite Plus.

"Get With The Guidelines" provides hospitals with stroke treatment guidelines to ensure patients are started on aggressive therapies and medications that can help improve their prognosis. Hospitals must follow these measures at a set level for a designated period of time to be eligible for this prestigious achievement award.

Why is speed important? Because time is brain, and every minute we wait, 2 million brain cells die.  Summa Health averaged 37-minute treatment times in 2021, 23 minutes faster than the national benchmark of 60 minutes. That’s a savings of approximately 46 million brain cells per patient. In addition, we met the national standard of 60 minutes 95% of the time, 10% better than goal. Furthermore, we met the national goal of 45 minutes 81% of the time, which is 6% better than goal. We also exceeded the newest, very stringent goal of administering the clot buster drug less than 30 minutes, 59% of the time, which exceeded goal by 9%.

Healthgrades has bestowed the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Stroke Care Award™ for 2022, our third year in a row. 

Additional Recognition

Summa Health also received numerous awards from Healthgrades in the neurosciences field, including:

Recipient of the Healthgrades Neurosciences Excellence Award™ for 3 Years in a Row (2020-2022)
Recipient of the Healthgrades Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award™ for 4 Years in a Row (2019-2022)
Recipient of the Healthgrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ for 4 Years in a Row (2019-2022)
Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Neurosciences for 3 Years in a Row (2020-2022)
Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Cranial Neurosurgery for 2 years in a Row (2021-2022)
Named Among the Top 5% in the Nation for Treatment of Stroke for 3 Years in a Row (2020-2022)
Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Neurosciences for 3 Years in a Row (2020-2022)
Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Cranial Neurosurgery for 4 Years in a Row (2019-2022)
Named Among the Top 10% in the Nation for Treatment of Stroke for 4 Years in a Row (2019-2022)
Five-Star Recipient for Cranial Neurosurgery for 5 Years in a Row (2018-2022)
Five-Star Recipient for Treatment of Stroke for 5 Years in a Row (2018-2022)