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National honor demonstrates hospital’s commitment to quality care for stroke patients STONY BROOK, N.Y., December 7, 2012 – For the third consecutive year, Stony Brook University Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Stony Brook’s ongoing commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines. “This outstanding accomplishment reflects Stony Brook’s commitment to delivering the highest quality stroke care,” said Dennis Choi, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and Director of Stony Brook University’s Neurosciences Institute. “It is a credit to the entire stroke team and our institution.” To receive the award, SBUH achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals, and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care. These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients. “Recent studies show that patients treated in hospitals participating in the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program receive a higher quality of care and may experience better outcomes,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, chair of the Get With The Guidelines National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. “The Stony Brook University Hospital team is to be commended for their commitment to improving the care of their patients.” The Stroke Team at SBUH has a longstanding commitment to establish a higher standard of medical care for individuals afflicted with stroke. Team members include:
Dr. Guido serves as Co-Director of the Stroke Program with Henry Woo, MD, a neurosurgeon and Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Dr. Woo also serves as Co-Director of Stony Brook’s Cerebrovascular Center with David Fiorella, MD, interventional neuroradiologist and Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery and Radiology. Stroke care at Stony Brook begins with pre-hospital care providers and continues with the Emergency Department staff – including Radiology staff and radiologists, Neurology and neuro-interventional specialists – and continues on the hospital’s inpatient units. The Emergency Department plays an important role in quickly identifying stroke patients, notifying the neurologist and assuring that stroke patients received expedited medical and nursing care, said Eileen Dowdy, RN, Quality Coordinator in the Emergency Department. Representatives from the Emergency Department meet monthly with the Neurology team to identify opportunities to improve care for stroke patients. Get With The Guidelines–Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool gives healthcare providers access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care. According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. 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. For more information on Get With The Guidelines, visit www.americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.
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Stony Brook University Hospital Receives 3rd Consecutive "Get with the Guidelines" Gold Plus Award
