The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus award for commitment to prioritizing quality care for stroke patients.
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Silver Plus Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award for our commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
Stroke is the No. 5 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 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.
Get With The Guidelines-Stroke was developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.
“Hutch Regional is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our commitment to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival after a stroke,” said Patti McCue, interim Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). “Get With The Guidelines-Stroke makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and evidence based guidelines to work on a daily basis to achieve the best possible outcomes for stroke patients.”
Each year program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Hutch regional also provides education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.
“We are pleased to recognize Hutchinson Regional Medical Center 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.”
Ken Johnson, President and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System (HRHS), said the award is especially significant this year in that it was achieved at the same time that the hospital dealt with a world-wide pandemic. “The past 18 months has been a very stressful and challenging time at Hutchinson Regional as our efficient and hardworking staff held it all together in treating everything from COVID to stroke patients,” Johnson said. “Our Stroke Coordinator combed through hundreds of criteria and data points regarding a large number of stroke patients which resulted in the decision that Hutchinson Regional is deserving of this national designation. We could not be prouder of this outstanding group of healthcare professionals.”
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center also received the Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite award. 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.
Additionally, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center received the Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
Entities that make up Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System are Health-E-Quip, Horizons Mental Health Center, Hospice & HomeCare of Reno County, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center and Hutchinson Regional Medical Foundation.
