Members of Munson Medical Center's interdisciplinary stroke team.
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recently honored Munson Medical Center with its 2019 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Award and the Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus award.
The awards reflect the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment based on nationally recognized, research-based guidelines tied to the latest scientific evidence.
“Patients who arrive with stroke symptoms are met by a multidisciplinary team at Munson Medical Center dedicated to identifying and treating their condition quickly and appropriately,” said Kersti Bruining, M.D., medical director for the inpatient stroke unit at the hospital. “This recognition again affirms the hard work and dedication of many staff and physicians to ensure the best outcomes for our patients.”
To achieve the Gold Plus Award, the hospital has to meet specific quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients within a designated period. Prior to discharge, patients also receive education on managing their health, risk factor modification, have a follow-up visit scheduled, and other care transition interventions.
The Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite-Plus Award recognizes door-to-treatment time for administering clot-dissolving medication. The new time metric has been decreased from 60 minutes to 45 minutes and Munson is achieving that for 50 percent or more of its applicable patients.
Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Service Officer Don Caraccio, M.D., said ongoing Emergency Department efforts to decrease door to treatment times for patients have been outstanding.
“I’m very proud of all the team members involved in providing high quality care for our stroke patients,” he said. “The results of the stroke team are truly impressive. We are making a difference in the lives of stroke patients.”
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association reports that stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and leading cause of 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.
Learn more about Munson Healthcare’s stroke program.