Neurologist helps develop global certification to improve rehabilitation for stroke survivors
· Medical Xpressby University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
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A UTHealth Houston neurologist was among a group of two dozen health care professionals from across the globe who developed an international certification program designed to improve rehabilitation care among stroke survivors.
Sean Savitz, MD, professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and director of the UTHealth Houston Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, served as co-senior author on the paper announcing the certification program, which was published in the International Journal of Stroke.
More than 12 million people suffer a stroke each year, according to the World Stroke Organization, which developed the new certification through the guidance of international experts.
"So much has been done over decades to improve care of patients in hospitals in the emergency department, but the next stage is what happens to them after they're discharged from the hospital. There hasn't been as much attention paid to this area," said Savitz, who chairs the World Stroke Organization Rehabilitation Committee and holds the Frank M. Yatsu, MD, Chair in Neurology at McGovern Medical School.
The World Stroke Organization Rehabilitation Certification Program will be available to all countries and is focused on improving rehabilitation care in low- and middle-income countries. The program is modeled after the World Stroke Organization Stroke Center Certification, which commenced in 2021 and focuses on acute stroke care.
Under the new program, health care entities can qualify for certifications based on three different tiers. To become certified, entities will be evaluated across 55 criteria that address service-level indicators, such as clear documentation, quality improvement and continuing education, as well as patient-level indicators, especially for different impairments.
"You need to have multidisciplinary teams that are providing care to the patient. You have to have people who represent different disciplines of rehab—occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, for example," Savitz said. "We talk about aerobic exercise, strength training and task-specific training, and how specific impairments such as difficulty swallowing should be evaluated and treated."
The World Stroke Organization anticipates that health care entities can apply for certification beginning in October. The rollout of the program comes after the criteria were assessed at 15 different centers in six countries.
Additional authors with UTHealth Houston include Emily A. Stevens, pOTD, an occupational therapist at the UTHealth Houston Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.
Elizabeth A. Lynch, Ph.D., an associate professor at Flinders University in Australia, was also a co-senior author on the paper.
More information
International Journal of Stroke Jessica Nolan et al, World Stroke Organization (WSO) rehabilitation certification program, International Journal of Stroke (2026). DOI: 10.1177/17474930261463019
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