Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor RollSM Elite Plus recognition. NGMC Braselton received the Bronze Quality Achievement Award. These awards recognize the hospitals’ commitment and success ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines rated in the latest scientific evidence.
NGMC Gainesville received the Get With The Guidelines Silver Plus Achievement Award by achieving 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for at least 12 consecutive months and, during the same period, achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.
To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the emergency department and treatment with the leading clot-busting drug tPA, which is used to treat ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability. NGMC Gainesville 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.
NGMC Braselton received the Get With The Guidelines Bronze Quality Achievement Award by achieving 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators during a three-month period.
These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.
“NGMC continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients,” said Dr. Shaena Blevins, medical director of Stroke Care at NGMC. “The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team’s hard work.”
For more information about NGMC’s Stroke Program, please visit www.nghs.com/stroke.
