Mega Doctor News
BROWNSVILLE — In recognition of its commitment to ensuring that local stroke patients receive high-quality healthcare, Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
The award recognizes Valley Baptist-Brownsville’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Valley Baptist-Brownsville 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.
“We are pleased to recognize Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville 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.”
Leslie Bingham, CEO for Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, said the awards from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association are tangible evidence of the hospital’s commitment to meeting the highest patient safety standards while providing outstanding healthcare.
“Earning awards such as these signifies our ability to consistently deliver safe, excellent care to stroke patients in our community, which is of critical importance now more than ever,” Bingham said. “The Get With the Guidelines recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association reflects our commitment to excellence and improving the health and well-being of our patients.”
To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, 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. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.
These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.
Valley Baptist-Brownsville additionally received the Association’s Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this 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.”
Dr. Luis Gaitan, Medical Director of the Stroke Program at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, said the recognition demonstrates the level of expertise offered by the stroke team at Valley Baptist.
“Valley Baptist-Brownsville continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients,” he said. “The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team’s hard work.”
In addition to the recognition from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult long-term 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.
