Stockbridge, Ga. (July 1, 2019) ― Piedmont Henry Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Piedmont Henry earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
“As our community’s Primary Stroke Center, Piedmont Henry is dedicated to improving the quality of care for patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative and using the tools and resources provided to help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines,” said Jay Connelly, Stroke Program Manager at Piedmont Henry. “We are honored by this recognition as it underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring stroke that our stroke patients receive the highest standard of care available.”
Piedmont Henry additionally received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, ortPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
“We are pleased to recognize Piedmont Henry for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmission's and lower mortality rates.”
Stroke, also referred to as a “brain attack,” is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
The key to optimal recovery is to act "F.A.S.T”:
- Face – look for an uneven smile
- Arm – check if one arm is weak
- Speech – listen for slurred speech
- Time – call 911 right away
“The quicker you recognize the symptoms and call 9-1-1, the better chance the victim has for survival and full recovery,” said Connelly.
To learn more about stroke care or neurological services at Piedmont Henry, visit piedmont.org.