The Wynn Hospital of Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®– Stroke Gold Plus Award for the 14th consecutive year. The gold award recognizes the hospital’s performance of ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
MVHS earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period, including:
- Evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.
- Offering care-transition interventions, including educating patients on managing their health prior to discharge, scheduling a follow-up visit, and other care-transition services.
- Meeting specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.
“The Wynn Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Melissa Kelly, RN, BSN, MVHS Stroke Program clinical coordinator. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in the Mohawk Valley can experience longer, healthier lives.”
In addition to the Gold Plus Award for stroke, MVHS also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke℠ Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll awards.
- To qualify for Target: Stroke℠ Honor Roll-Elite Award, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.
- Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll Award aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize the Wynn Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a major cause of serious disability for adults 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.Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times.
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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 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
