Several Hospitals in University Hospitals System Recognized by American Heart Association for Quality Stroke Care
Several hospitals in the University Hospitals system have been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) for their quality stroke care.
The following UH hospitals received these AHA levels of achievement:
Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus
- UH Cleveland Medical Center
- UH Geauga Medical Center
Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite
- UH Ahuja Medical Center
- UH Parma Medical Center
- Southwest General Hospital (a joint-venture hospital)
Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll
- UH Elyria Medical Center
- UH Portage Medical Center
Stroke Gold Plus Award
- UH St. John Medical Center
- UH Bedford and Richmond Medical Centers, campuses of UH Regional Hospitals
Stroke Silver Award
- UH Geneva Medical Center
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, achieved by UH medical centers, recognizes their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
The medical centers earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for 24 consecutive months. 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.
UH Geneva’s Stroke Silver Award recognizes performance of 12 consecutive months.
“We are 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 Cathy Sila, MD, Chair of the UH Department of Neurology and Director of the UH Comprehensive Stroke Center Director. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Target: Stroke Honor Roll
In addition, seven of the hospitals were placed on the Stroke Honor Roll. UH Cleveland and UH Geauga achieved Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus; UH Ahuja, UH Parma, and Southwest achieved Stroke Honor Roll Elite; and UH Elyria and UH Portage received Stroke Honor Roll.
To qualify for these recognitions, 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, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
UH Cleveland Medical Center also has met specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center achieving Target Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll for rapid diagnosis and treatment of severe stroke patients requiring thrombectomy procedure.
“We are pleased to recognize University Hospitals 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 readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
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.