BECKLEY, WV (WVNS)– Staff at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital celebrated a big achievement for their hospital on Thursday, November 16, 2023.

Hospital staff and members of the community celebrated Beckley ARH’s certification as a Primary Stroke Center.

Angela Rivera, West Virginia Regional Chief Nurse Officer, explained how the hospital got here.

“This is actually a process,” said Rivera. “We became acute stroke ready probably three years ago, and in that time frame from three years ago, there were things we had to meet; metrics, times, medications that we had to give so many of (in order) to prove that we could take care of these patients safely, effectively, and compassionately- and we passed our survey.”

This certification allows the hospital to keep their patients local for stroke treatment instead of transferring them.

“This is huge for a rural area like Beckley to have that opportunity for patients just to come here,” said Rivera. “If they have to get admitted, they stay with us, their families can visit them, and it just keeps everybody here.”

Rivera said this certification is going to make a huge difference for their patients.

“This is a huge win for Beckley ARH and it’s a huge win for our community. We are going to affect so many lives- we have affected so many lives- to be able to keep people here, keep them healthy and treat them from stroke.”

Overall, Rivera said the certification allows them to give the best possible care to their patients.

“This is not just one person, or one team that makes this happen, this is a whole hospital event. It takes all of us working as a team to take care of these patients,” said Rivera.