HEALTHSOUTH VALLEY OF THE SUN REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
EARNS GOLD SEAL

Glendale, AZ – The Joint Commission has awarded HealthSouth Valley of the Sun Rehabilitation Hospital the Gold Seal of Approval™ for its stroke rehabilitation program. HealthSouth Valley of the Sun is the only Rehabilitation Hospital in Maricopa County to hold such a designation.

“In 2010, four out of five families will be touched by stroke and it’s important for the public to realize how important quality treatment and rehabilitation are to the stroke recovery process,” saidMichael Kravetz, M.D., medical director of HealthSouth Valley of the Sun Rehabilitation Hospital. “This distinction from The Joint Commission recognizes the services we provide each day to restore patient function, teach people with disabilities new ways to perform daily activities, and support and educate stroke survivors and their families.”

To earn this distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers every two years. The program is evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of a program’s processes, the program’s ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization, and interviews with patients and staff.

“HealthSouth Valley of the Sun Rehabilitation Hospital demonstrated that its stroke rehabilitation program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients,” says Jean E. Range, M.S., R.N., C.P.H.Q., executive director, Disease-Specific Care Certification, Joint Commission.
Each year approximately 795,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent stroke. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies of a stroke every three to four minutes. Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death behind heart disease and cancer and is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States, with about 4.7 million stroke survivors alive today.

The Joint Commission launched its Disease-Specific Care Certification program in 2002. It is the first program of its kind in the country to certify disease management programs. A list of programs certified by the Joint Commission is available at www.jointcommission.org.

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.

About HealthSouth Valley of the Sun
HealthSouth Rehabilitation Valley of the Sun Rehabilitation Hospital is a 75 bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital that offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation and home health services. Serving patients throughout Maricopa County the hospital is located at 13460 N. 67th Ave. and on the Web at http://healthsouthvalleyofthesun.com

About HealthSouth
HealthSouth is the nation’s largest provider of inpatient rehabilitative healthcare services. Operating in 26 states across the country and in Puerto Rico, HealthSouth serves patients through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation satellite clinics and home health agencies. HealthSouth’s hospitals provide a higher level of rehabilitative care to patients who are recovering from conditions such as stroke and other neurological disorders, orthopedic, cardiac and pulmonary conditions, brain and spinal cord injury, and amputations. HealthSouth can be found on the Web at www.healthsouth.com.

For more information, please contact Summer Carmichael at 623-334-5423