DAYTON — Premier Health hospitals have received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Quality Achievement Awards.
The awards recognize the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, researched guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence from the American Heart Association.
“We are proud to once again be recognized by the American Heart and Stroke Associations for our quality stroke care,” said Barbara Johnson, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Premier Health. “Premier Health’s stroke teams consistently apply the most current, evidence-based treatments for stroke patients, which saves lives and improves patient outcomes.”
Upper Valley Medical Center (UVMC) and Miami Valley Hospital received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Atrium Medical Center received the Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award.
The awards were earned by meeting specific quality 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 evidence-based guidelines, with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also receive education on managing their health, a scheduled follow-up visit, as well as other care transition interventions.
Additionally, UVMC received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll award, and Miami Valley Hospital received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll, Advanced Therapy, and the Target: Type 2 DiabetesSM Honor Roll awards.
Stroke honor roll recognition is given for meeting 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.
According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the United States dies from stroke every 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
