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Hamilton Medical Center Nationally Recognized for Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

Hamilton Medical Center (HMC) has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

HMC also recently earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center.

Hamilton Medical Center was recently recognized for high-quality stroke care. Stroke care specialists are pictured. In the front, from left, are Meagan Darnell, Sara Kate Rogers, Sumaiya Khondker, MD, and Camrie Ackerman. In the back are Beanie Jones, Laura Calderon, Kendall Black and Heather Wibberding.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.

Are you at risk for a stroke?

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

an Darnell, MSN, RN

“Hamilton is committed to providing excellent patient care,” said Meagan Darnell, Stroke Program coordinator. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to continue providing quality healthcare, ensuring more people in this area can experience longer, healthier lives.”

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Hamilton Medical Center for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, MD, chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “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.”

Additionally, HMC received the Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll recognition. To qualify for the Stroke Honor Roll Elite recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase. The Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll recognition 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.

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with 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.

Hamilton Medical Center Receives Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

Hamilton Medical Center (HMC) has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Hamilton Medical Center receives Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award - picture of stroke team
From Left are Meagan Darnell, Stroke Program coordinator; Chloe Garland, RN; Jeff Glass, MD; Camrie Ackerman, physical therapist; Stacy Sanhueza, RN; and Miranda Banks, RN.
Hamilton Medical Center receives Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

HMC 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. These measures include 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. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“Hamilton 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 Meagan Darnell, Stroke Program coordinator. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Additionally, HMC received the Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards. To qualify for the Stroke Honor Roll Elite recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. To qualify for Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90 percent of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”

LEARN THE SIGNS OF A STROKE

“We are pleased to recognize Hamilton Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and executive vice chair of Neurology, director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass. “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.”

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.

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