Four Mercy Hospitals Earn Stroke Association Honors

Four Mercy hospitals received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospitals' commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Mercy hospitals Jefferson, South and St. Louis earned the GWTG® Gold Plus award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. Each hospital has 85% or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the AHA/ASA for two consecutive calendar years and also demonstrating 75% compliance to seven out of the ten stroke quality measures during a 12-month period. Mercy Hospital Washington earned the GWTG® Silver Plus award for meeting the same requirements for one calendar year.

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.

Mercy hospitals South, St. Louis and Washington also earned the Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite award honoring door-to-needle time within 60 minutes in 75% or more of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV tPA.

“Mercy 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 Kat Nelson, chief quality officer for Mercy's eastern Missouri region. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

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.

“We are pleased to recognize the staff at Mercy 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.”