The program, which began as a 12-month pilot project, gives ERH a stroke care certification for the next four years.
They are only one of seven hospitals in the country that have received the certification.
ERH’s Lauren Arthurson said the accreditation was “a huge honour” and the outcome of “10 years of hard work.”
“It’s a huge deal and a huge honour for a large number of us who work here,” Ms Arthurson said.
In order to receive the certification, Ms Arthurson said ERH looked at where its weakest spots were in stroke care and then worked to fix them.
“Unfortunately in regional areas it can be hard to access medical expertise such as stroke neurologists,” she said.
“We now have access to those experts using innovative telehealth models of care.
“They were the biggest gaps and we’re really proud of those models of care.”
Stroke Foundation interim executive director of Stroke Services and Research Kelvin Hill says this new certification will improve outcomes for all patients.
“All Australian survivors of stroke deserve the best quality of care regardless of where they are hospitalised. There should be no postcode lottery.” Mr Hill said.
According to the Stroke Foundation, Stroke Unit Certification is recommended by both the World Health Organisation, the World Stroke organisation and the Federal Government's National Strategic Action Plan for Heart Disease and Stroke as a method of ensuring best possible stroke care.
It is commonplace in many countries, but has never previously occurred in Australia.
