Kansas University Hospital has become one of the first five facilities in the country to earn Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center designation from The Joint Commission, a nonprofit group that certifies and accredits healthcare programs across the country.

The hospital announced the certification Monday. KU Hospital is the only facility in the Midwest to earn the certification so far.

The Joint Commission certified KU Hospital’s stroke program as a primary stroke center in 2006.

The new designation comes after a two-day evaluation by Joint Commission surveyors in September. The visitors evaluated the hospital’s stroke program on factors including 24/7 care for complex stroke patients, imaging capabilities, specialty procedures and research.

“The higher standards of the CSC designation indicate that our hospital can assist all stroke patients and is better prepared — with state-of-the-art equipment, infrastructure, staff and training — to diagnose and treat patients with the most complex strokes,” said Colleen Lechtenberg, medical director of the KU Hospital stroke program, in a release.