Author: McLaren Flint Hospital
For a third consecutive year, McLaren Flint has received the four top awards for stroke care from the American Heart Association. These awards fall under the Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Stroke Quality Achievement Award for the hospital’s continued success in utilizing the Get with the Guidelines - Stroke patient management program.
Stroke is the fifth cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and every 3.5 minutes, someone dies of a stroke. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and speeding recovery times.
Get With The Guidelines - Stroke was developed to assist health care professionals in providing the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.
These guidelines include timeliness of treating stroke with medications or endovascular therapy (clot removal), stroke risk factor reduction, and post-stroke rehabilitation. Patients are also educated regarding managing their health after discharge, following up with their physician to monitor their underlying risk factors for stroke, and they are encouraged to participate in continued support for themselves and their families through the McLaren educational series and support group.
“As the region’s Comprehensive Stroke Center, and a hub for advanced stroke treatment for the McLaren Stroke Network, McLaren Flint continues its dedication to improving the quality of care for stroke patients,” said Chris Candela, president and CEO of McLaren Flint. “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 Genesee County and beyond can experience longer, healthier lives.”
McLaren Flint additionally received the following recognitions:
Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award. To qualify for this 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.
Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award. For this award, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. This 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.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize McLaren Flint for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., 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.”