Swedish Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines -Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Swedish earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. 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.
“I’m very pleased to share that we have been honored by the American Heart/Stroke Association for the excellent care we provide to our stroke patients,” said Katie Lord BSN, RN, Swedish Hospital Stroke Coordinator, Manager Stroke-Cardiac Telemetry. “We as a hospital can proudly say we uphold the commitment to delivering excellent, quality, evidence based care to our stroke patients in our community.”
This recognition is the result of a team effort from all our stroke care areas: physicians, therapists, nurses, pharmacists, transporters, lab and radiology technicians who work to provide our patients with the best outcomes. Special thanks goes to the associated providers, including: Danny Park, Stroke Program Medical Director; Daniel Orozco, Covering Neurologist; Colleen Harrison, PA for Neurology; Ben Flagel, Medical Director ED; Aswin Krishnamoorthy, Radiologist, Certified Neuro-Radiologist; Eric Gluck, Medical Director ICU; and Ketki Modi, Rehab Medicine. This award would not have been possible without all of our attending physicians, specialists and residents.
“We are pleased to recognize Swedish Hospital for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “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.”
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.
