St. Peter’s Hospital Recognized for Excellence in Stroke Care

St. Peter’s Hospital, an affiliate of St. Peter’s Health Partners, has earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)’s Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. This award demonstrates St. Peter’s Hospital’s commitment to, and success in, delivering excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

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. In 2018, St. Peter’s Hospital treated 462 patients for stroke.

This is the third consecutive year that St. Peter’s Hospital has received the Gold Plus designation, which is GTWG’s highest level of recognition. It means the hospital met specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures are aimed at speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.

“St. Peter’s Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Mike Finegan, president of Acute Care for St. Peter’s Health Partners. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Another award category, the Stroke Honor Roll, recognized St. Peter’s Hospital for meeting quality measures developed to reduce the time between a patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. tPA is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the onset of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.

“We are pleased to recognize St. Peter’s 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.”

The GWTG–Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award is the latest recognition of the quality cardiac and vascular care provided by St. Peter’s Hospital:

• In its 2018 Heart Surgery Safety Guide, Consumer Reports listed St. Peter’s Hospital among the top six hospitals in the Northeastern United States for outcomes from both heart bypass surgery and aortic valve replacement. [link]
• For the past four years, St. Peter’s Hospital received a Women’s Choice Award as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Heart Care. [link]
• In 2016, St. Peter’s Hospital became the first hospital in New York state to receive full accreditation for atrial fibrillation with electrophysiology services from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. [link]
• In 2019, U.S. News & World Report rated St. Peter’s Hospital 12th among nearly 211 hospitals in New York state, with 8 procedures and specialties rated as “high performing,” including heart bypass surgery, heart failure, and aortic valve surgery. [link]
• In 2015, the cardiovascular rehabilitation program at St. Peter’s Hospital was certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. [link]
• In 2015, St. Peter’s Hospital and Samaritan Hospital received national Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. [link]
• In 2015, the cardiovascular intensive care unit at St. Peter’s Hospital received a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. [link]

For more information on stroke and heart failure care at St. Peter’s Health Partners, visit: www.sphp.com/cardiac-vascular. For additional information on Get With The Guidelines, visit: www.heart.org/quality.

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.