Lee Health hospitals’ stroke care earns Quality Achievement Awards
Cape Coral Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center, HealthPark Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital recently each earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award.
The award recognizes success in implementing evidence-based guidelines and delivering excellent care for stroke patients. The awards acknowledge hospitals’ exceptional performance in administration of clot-busting tPA medication, which significantly reduces disability after stroke.
“We are so proud that all four adult hospitals earned Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold PlusTarget Stroke Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award,” Cindy Drapal, system director for Lee Health Neurosciences, said. “Time matters when treating stroke and by continuing to implement the very best evidence-based guidelines into our processes, we ensure outpatients receive the best treatment.”
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious long-term disability in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 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-Stroke uses the “teachable moment” after a patient has a stroke and when they are most likely to listen to and follow their health care professionals’ guidance. Studies show that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second stroke. Additionally, customized patient education materials are provided at discharge and are based on each patient’s individual risk profiles.
To receive the Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all guideline indicators and 75 percent or higher compliance with six of the 10 guideline measures. The Gold Plus level is awarded for 24 consecutive months of performance achievement. The measures include aggressive use of medications, preventative treatments, cholesterol-reducing drugs and smoking cessation – all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.
To achieve the Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Plus recognition, hospitals must administer clot-busting medication within 60 minutes of arrival to the facility in 75 percent or more of eligible acute ischemic strokes and within 45 minutes of arrival in 50 percent of eligible acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV tPA.
Gulf Coast Medical Center offers 24/7 neurointerventional coverage with a team of specialists, support staff, neuroscience intensive care unit and neurointerventional suite equipped with state-of-the-art biplane angiography systems. It is Lee County’s only certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. Cape Coral Hospital and Lee Memorial Hospital are Primary Stroke Centers, meaning they are recognized nationally for providing state-of-the-art care while focusing on quality, innovation and continual improvement.