New York State Stroke Designation Program

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has released updated NYS Stroke Center Guidance Document Version 23.1 . These updated New York State Stroke Center specific standards became effective on September 1, 2023 for all initial certifications and recertifications.

Stroke Designation Program - Adopted March 2019

On March 20, 2019, a new regulation at 10 NYCRR 405.34 was adopted to allow the New York State Stroke Designation Program to transition to a three-tiered stroke system of care that recognizes the advanced capabilities of hospitals to treat complex stroke patients in a multi-tiered system. The goal of the Stroke Designation Program is to recognize and treat stroke patients as quickly as possible at the right place.

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) will recognize and designate hospitals as:

  1. Primary Stroke Centers: Capable of treating acute ischemic stroke with IV thrombolytics and comprehensive supportive care.
  2. Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Centers: Capable of treating large vessel occlusions with intracranial endovascular intervention in addition to meeting Primary Stroke Center requirements.
  3. Comprehensive Stroke Centers: Capable of treating subarachnoid intracerebral hemorrhage with neurosurgical services in addition to meeting Primary Stroke and Thrombectomy Capable Stroke Center requirements.

List of Currently Designated Stroke Centers in New York State

How to Become a NYSDOH Designated Stroke Center

A hospital seeking designation as a stroke center at any level must achieve certification from an approved Certifying Organization. Certification must be achieved on or after March 20, 2019. This certification verifies that a hospital's stroke program meets specified criteria related to advanced stroke care. The Certifying Organization will survey based on their own standards, as well as New York State specific criteria that were developed using evidence and guidelines in collaboration with the New York State Stroke Advisory Group, when certifying a hospital. The New York State specific criteria are outlined in the New York State Stroke Center Guidance document found below. Once a hospital receives certification, they must request designation from the NYSDOH utilizing the Request for Designation form (PDF). Certifications must be achieved on or after March 20, 2019, to ensure that all hospitals are using the New York State criteria as outlined in the guidance document.

The NYSDOH has developed a program guide for New York State general hospitals to assist in developing a stroke program and meeting requirements relating to the New York State Stroke Designation Program and Title 10 NYCRR 405.34: Stroke Services. It serves to detail the process by which a hospital may request designation as a stroke center from the New York State Department of Health and it outlines New York State specific standards for all levels of stroke designation.

Approved Certifying Organizations

Why Should a Hospital Seek Designation as a Stroke Center?

Designation allows consumers, other hospitals, and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers to identify the capabilities of the hospital to treat stroke patients. Additionally, it allows EMS providers to preferentially triage and transport patients with a suspected stroke to a center capable of providing appropriate care.

Reporting Performance Measures and Time Targets

After a stroke center receives New York State Stroke Center Designation, it will be required to report specific performance measures and time targets, as outlined in the NYS Stroke Center Guidance Document, to the NYSDOH. Following designation, stroke centers will no longer submit performance measures and time targets to HERDS but will instead enter this data in a stroke registry (e.g. Get With The Guidelines). The NYSDOH will access stroke center data on a quarterly basis for quality improvement purposes. Stroke centers are required to give the NYSDOH permission to access their data directly in the stroke registry. Data review will occur according to the following schedule:

Quarter Timeframe Review
Q1 January 1 - March 31 Mid-April
Q2 April 1 - June 30 Mid-July
Q3 July 1- September 30 Mid- October
Q4 October 1- December 31 Mid- January

New York State Stroke Coordinator Consortiums

There are three independent stroke coordinator consortiums (not endorsed or facilitated by NYSDOH) in New York State. These consortiums meet on a pre-determined schedule to collaborate on a regional basis to share resources to optimize stroke patient outcomes. NYSDOH encourages facilities to participate in regional quality improvement (QI) collaborations. Please contact the appropriate contact person for the county in which your facility is located.

Greater New York Metropolitan Area Stroke Coordinator Consortium (GNYMASCC)

Purpose of Group: The mission of the GNYMASCC is to identify barriers to meeting stroke patient care goals, to share resources to optimize stroke patient outcomes and to collaborate to address challenges when implementing best practices.

Counties Served: Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, New York, Richmond, and Westchester Counties

Website: https://www.gnymascc.com

Contact Person:

  • Anna Huang, MPH
    Program Consultant
    Quality, Outcomes Research & Analytics (QORA) - Northeast American Heart Association
    Phone: 732.662.0589
    Email: Anna.Huang@heart.org

Capital Region Stroke Coordinator Consortium

Purpose of Group: Regional collaboration of hospital-based stroke programs to improve the delivery of stroke care.

Counties Served: Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, Washington, Fulton, Hamilton Counties

Contact Person(s):

Central/Western Region Stroke Coordinator Consortium (CWSC)

Purpose of Group: The CWSC exists to support coordinators, through mentorship and sharing of successful strategies and barriers which may assist or hinder successful implementation of a quality stroke care program for the people of the Central and Western NY region.

Counties Served: The group serves Central and Western New York including the North Country and encompasses the population of over 25 counties.

Website: https://cwscsteering.wixsite.com/website

Contact Person(s): cwscsteering@gmail.com

History of Stroke Designation Program

The NYSDOH stroke designation program began as a demonstration pilot program in 2002 in select areas of the state and later expanded to the entire state in 2004. Under this pre-regulation program, the NYSDOH only recognized hospitals with advanced capabilities to treat and support stroke patients as Primary Stroke Centers. Primary Stroke Centers in New York State demonstrated these advanced capabilities by satisfying standards developed by NYSDOH based on evidence from "The Brain Attack Coalition Guidelines for Primary Stroke Centers." The Brain Attack Coalition is a group of professional, voluntary, and governmental organizations dedicated to setting direction, advancing knowledge, and communication of the best practices to prevent and treat stroke. On March 20, 2019, a new regulation at 10 NYCRR 405.34 was adopted to allow the New York State Stroke Designation Program to transition to a three-tiered stroke system of care that recognizes the advanced capabilities of hospitals to treat stroke patients in a multi-tiered system. This regulation effectively ended the single tier, pre-regulation Stroke Designation Program and created the multi-tiered Stroke Designation Program. Hospitals that received stroke designation prior to March 20, 2019, were required to comply with the transition period described in 10 NYCRR 405.34 (g). Hospitals were required to enter into a contract with an approved Certifying Organization by March 20, 2021. Once contracted, hospitals had one year to be certified by the Certifying Organization and apply for Stroke Center Designation with NYSDOH. Initially, hospitals were allotted three years to complete this process or risk losing their stroke designation, ending March 20, 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this deadline was extended for one year, with the transition period officially concluding March 20, 2023. This transition period did not apply to hospitals who had not achieved NYS Stroke Center Designation prior to March 20, 2019.

Stroke Center Resources