Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City’s Comprehensive Stroke Center received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke 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 guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City 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.
“We know time is brain for our stroke patients,” said Amber Elliott, director of neurosciences at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. “They need the right kind of care quickly because we know the faster they are treated, the better their outcome will be. The tools and resources provided by the program help us track and measure our success to meet evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City also 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, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, featuring a system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients who come to the emergency department.
“We are pleased to recognize Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City for its 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. “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.
