News

The Medical Center, Navicent Health Receives Eighth Consecutive Award for Stroke Care

July 11, 2018

The Medical Center, Navicent Health (MCNH) has received its eighth consecutive “Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus” Quality Achievement Award, an annual award presented by the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association (AHA) for excellence in stroke care.  In addition, MCNH has also been named to AHA’s “Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus” for the second consecutive year. The awards recognize the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

 

MCNH earned the “Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus” Quality Achievement 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.

 

MCNH additionally received the association’s “Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus” designation. 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.

“The Medical Center, Navicent Health’s is dedicated to deliver advanced stroke care to patients quickly and safely. Our stroke team works diligently to provide timely, proven care for our patients, and continues to raise the standard of excellence as we treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols. The tools and resources provided by the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines Initiative help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes,” said Tom Oliver, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for MCNH.   

 

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.

 

“We are pleased to recognize The Medical Center, Navicent Health for their commitment to stroke care. 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,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

 

According to AHA, stroke is the fifth leading causes of death and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. 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.  

 

According to AHA, stroke is the fifth leading 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.

 

“The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and an aging population. The Medical Center, Navicent Health remains focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing evidence-based guidelines, including Get With The Guidelines–Stroke,” said Denise Goings, RN, MSN, SCRN, Stroke Coordinator for MCNH.  

 

In the attached photo –Navicent Health’s stroke team continues to exceed national benchmarks for quality care, ensuring those who trust Navicent Health when facing a stroke receive the highest caliber of treatment, from emergency services to neurological care to rehabilitation.

 

About Get With The Guidelines®

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

About Navicent Health
Navicent Health was incorporated on November 17, 1994, as a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is to coordinate The Medical Center, Navicent Health and other affiliated entities in their mission of providing a comprehensive continuum of high quality, reasonably priced healthcare services to the region. Navicent Health has 970 beds for medical, surgical, rehabilitation and hospice purposes. The health system includes The Medical Center, Navicent Health, a nationally recognized tertiary teaching hospital; Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health, the region’s only dedicated pediatric hospital; Navicent Health Baldwin and Medical Center of Peach County, Navicent Health, both rural hospitals; Rehabilitation Hospital, Navicent Health, the region’s oldest and most experienced rehabilitation provider; Pine Pointe, Navicent Health, which provides palliative and hospice care in homes and in its facility; Carlyle Place, Navicent Health, the area’s first continuing care retirement community;  Navicent Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Navicent Health; as well as diagnostic and home care services. For more information, please visit www.navicenthealth.org.

 

###