When someone is having a stroke, minutes matter. Receiving timely and appropriate care can have a significant impact on someone’s quality of life following a stroke.
Mercy Health recognizes this and has worked diligently to implement specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association at its area hospitals.
The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association have recognized the Mercy Health hospitals with the following awards for commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment per nationally recognized, research-based guidelines set by the latest scientific evidence:
- Mercy Health – West Hospital and The Jewish Hospital – Mercy Health - Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus award and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite.
- Mercy Health – Anderson Hospital and Mercy Health - Fairfield Hospital - Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Silver Plus award and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite
“Stroke is a leading cause of death but timely intervention can save a life and also help preserve quality of life. Mercy Health prides itself on providing stroke patients with compassionate, research-based care that aims to give them the best possible health outcomes,” said Dave Fikse, President, Mercy Health - Cincinnati. “I congratulate our nurses, providers and staff for their successes in achieving these highly respected honors. Their good work makes a difference in the lives of our patients and their families.”
Mercy Health’s hospitals earned the awards 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.
Additionally, Mercy Health’s hospitals received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite awards. To qualify for this 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.
“We are pleased to recognize Mercy Health – Cincinnati’s hospitals for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “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.