The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recently honored Munson Medical Center with its 2020 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Award as well as the Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Awards.
This recognition reflects 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. The Gold Plus Award will be acknowledged nationally in U.S. News and World Report and at the International Stroke Conference in Feb. 10-12, 2021, in Denver, Colo.
This is the seventh consecutive year Munson Medical Center has been recognized with the Gold Plus Award, an accomplishment that reflects the work of the stroke core team and the expanded Primary Stroke Center team.
“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 must 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 Medical Center is achieving that for 50 percent or more of its applicable patients.
A new recognition this year is the Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award reflecting quality comprehensive care of the stroke patient. To qualify, hospitals must have treated at least 10 patients with a new or previous history of diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2) over the award reporting period, among other criteria.
Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Services 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 the 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.
More information on Munson Healthcare’s growing stroke program can be found at munsonhealthcare.org/stroke.