American Heart Association recognizes Kennedy University Hospital’s commitment to quality stroke care
Kennedy University Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines — Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
In addition, the Washington Township location also received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Award, recognizing the hospital’s commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
U.S. hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke quality measures to receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus awards, 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, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 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.
“This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely,” said Kennedy Health Stroke Program Director Kathryn Donley. “Kennedy strives for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. This recognition further reinforces our team’s hard work.”
Kennedy University Hospital — Washington Township is a state-designated Comprehensive Stroke Center featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the Emergency Department.
Get With The Guidelines-Stroke puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospital care teams ensure that patient care is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the №5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U. S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
