Glens Falls Hospital lauded for stroke treatment
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> Glens Falls Hospital recently received the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Bronze Quality Achievement Award.
This 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.
Glens Falls Hospital 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-todate, 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.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. 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.
“Glens Falls Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Cassandra Moore, MS, RN, SCRN, stroke program coordinator, in a press release. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Glens Falls Hospital is also recognized on the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll. To qualify for this, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clotbuster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
Additionally, Glens Falls Hospital has met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.
“We are pleased to recognize Glens Falls Hospital for their commitment to stroke care,” Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and executive vice chair of neurology, director of acute stroke services at the Massachusetts General Hospital, said in the release. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”