The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have honored Albany Memorial Hospital’s commitment to quality stroke care with a Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)- Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award.
To receive a Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award, Albany Memorial had to meet specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients for a designated time period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the latest nationally recognized, 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.
“Our team of expert doctors, nurses, and ancillary support staff is passionate about improving the quality of care for our stroke patients,” said Virginia Golden, President of Albany Memorial Hospital and St. Peter’s Hospital. “We have found the tools and resources provided by the Get With The Guidelines initiative to be extremely beneficial in helping us track and measure our success. Through evidence-based clinical guidelines, we have improved patient outcomes.”
“We are pleased to recognize Albany Memorial Hospital for their commitment to stroke care,” 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. “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.”
An affiliate of St. Peter’s Health Partners, Albany Memorial has received state and national recognition for high-quality cardiovascular care. It is an official Designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health, as well as an accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
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 and 795.000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
GWTG 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, GWTG has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001.
For more information, please visit www.heart.org/quality or www.heart.org/QualityMap.
