Overlake Medical Center & Clinics earns 2020 Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association
Print
Share
August 17, 2020
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has honored Overlake Medical Center & Clinics with the 2020 Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
Overlake 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 from the hospital, patients should also receive education on managing their health, schedule a follow-up visit and receive other care transition interventions.
The Gold Plus Recognition is given to hospitals who have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients with 85% or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association® for two consecutive calendar years. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated 75% compliance to (seven out of 10 stroke quality measures) during the 12-month period.
Overlake has also received the Association’s Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards. To qualify for the stroke elite honor roll 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. And, to qualify for the Type 2 Diabetes recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
“At Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, we understand that the up-to-date, evidence-based treatment guidelines from the American Heart Association® are a lifeline to our patients—and that is what we are all about, what is best for our patients,” said Jennifer Kurtz, stroke program manager at Overlake Medical Center.
“Our participation in Get With The Guidelines®/Mission: Lifeline® demonstrates our commitment to quality and compassionate care,” said J. Michael Marsh, CEO of Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, “We are proud to be a part of the American Heart Association’s® efforts to turn guidelines into lifelines.”
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.
