VERO BEACH — Indian River Medical Center is playing a major role in stroke prevention and care. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States today.
The hospital, already awarded the Gold Seal of Approval and designation as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center of Excellence by The Joint Commission, recently got word from Julia Mora, BSN, MSHSA, senior director of Quality Improvement, American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Affiliate, that it has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines(GWTG) Silver Achievement Recognition Award.
The honor recognizes IRMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
To receive the award, the hospital needed to demonstrate excellence in achieving seven GWTG treatment guidelines for 12 consecutive months. Hospitals are recognized in each category in which they achieve at least 85 percent compliance to GWTG measures.
Those hospitals marking 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months are given the Gold Performance Achievement Award. IRMC, which received a bronze award in December 2011 for maintaining guidelines for 90 days, will be eligible for a gold award next year.
“This is an excellent accomplishment for our hospital,” said Kathy Clark, R.N., CCRN, CNML, nurse manager, Cardiac Stepdown Unit/Intermediate Cardiac Care. “It certainly demonstrates the ‘right care right here.’ Every department contributes to our excellent stroke scores. Accolades are due to all departments involved.”
“This is proof positive for our community that IRMC provides excellent care, and we’ve done it consistently over time. The Silver Award demonstrates a commitment to quality of care,” said Dr. S. James Shafer, medical director of the Stroke Team. “It’s a privilege to work with our stroke team, the community, and our team of physicians.”
When a stroke occurs, time is brain. IRMC has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the Emergency Department and patients having a stroke within the hospital.
This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations, and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States.
On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.
Currently more than 1,450 hospitals participate in the program.