Highland Hospital Receives “Get With The Guidelines” Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award
December 21, 2010
- Award demonstrates Highland’s commitment to quality care for stroke patients
Highland Hospital has received the 2010 American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award. The distinction is the highest honor of its kind and recognizes Highland’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.
To receive the award, Highland met and exceeded national standards in treating stroke patients. The hospital followed Stroke Performance Achievement guidelines 85 percent of the time or more for at least two consecutive years. The "Plus" recognition represents a 75 percent or higher compliance with five out of eight Stroke Quality Measures. These include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.
"The care of stroke patients requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach from the time of emergency department arrival through hospital discharge," said Adam Kelly, M.D., the director of the stroke program and Assistant Professor of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center. "This award is a tribute to all current and past members of our Highland Hospital stroke program for their excellent clinical care."
"I’m very proud of our sustained focus on providing top-quality care to stroke patients, as this award demonstrates," said Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Cindy Becker. "This achievement, and the addition of our new Neuromedicine Unit scheduled to open in 2011, reflects our commitment to raising the level of care for stroke and other neurological conditions in our community."
Highland’s Neuromedicine Unit will provide specialized care for patients with stroke and other neurological conditions as well as those recovering from brain, spine, and head and neck surgery.
"The Neuromedicine Unit and its approach to care will sustain and improve upon the extraordinary successes already achieved by the stroke program," said Robert Holloway, M.D., M.P.H., Interim Chief of Neurology at Highland and Professor of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center. "We are excited to excel and be leaders in providing the highest quality care for all patients with neurological disorders cared for at Highland Hospital."
The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population. According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every three minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
Full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients. Get With The Guidelines-Stroke uses the "teachable moment," the time soon after a patient has had a stroke when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals' guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.
For more information on Get With The Guidelines, visit www.americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.