Several Hospitals in University Hospitals System Recognized by American Heart Association for Quality Stroke Care

CLEVELAND–Several hospitals in the University Hospitals health system have been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) for their quality stroke care. The following UH hospitals received these AHA levels of achievement:

Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus 

• UH Ahuja Medical Center
• UH Cleveland Medical Center
• UH Geauga Medical Center
• Southwest General Hospital (a joint-venture hospital)

Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite

• UH Bedford and Richmond Medical Centers, campuses of UH Regional Hospitals (Inpatient, surgical, and emergency services will be discontinued at these centers Aug. 12; see news release)
• UH Geneva Medical Center
• UH Parma Medical Center
• Western Reserve Hospital (a joint-venture hospital)

Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll

• UH Elyria Medical Center
• UH Portage Medical Center

Stroke Gold Plus 

• UH Samaritan Medical Center
• UH St. John’s Medical Center

Stroke Silver Plus Award and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite

• UH Lake Health Medical Centers   

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Quality Achievement Awards, achieved by UH medical centers, recognizes their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

The medical centers earned the Gold Plus award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for 24 consecutive months. 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

“All of our University Hospitals health system hospitals are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to the highest quality of care for our patients affected by a stroke,” said Cathy Sila, MD, Chair of the UH Department of Neurology, Director of the UH System Stroke Program and Gilbert W. Humphrey Professor of Neurology. “The robust quality initiatives of Get with the Guidelines-Stroke provides a platform for our healthcare teams to put proven knowledge and best practices to work on a daily basis to improve outcomes for our patients with stroke at all of our UH hospitals.”

Target: Stroke Honor Roll

In addition, eleven of the hospitals were recognized for their rapid treatment of patients with stroke by achieving the Target Stroke Honor Roll.  UH Ahuja, UH Cleveland, UH Geauga and Southwest achieved Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus; UH Geneva, UH Lake Health Medical Centers, UH Parma, UH Regional Hospitals and Western Reserve achieved Stroke Honor Roll Elite; and UH Elyria and UH Portage received Stroke Honor Roll.

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 drug or thrombolytic agent.

Target Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll

UH Cleveland Medical Center also has met specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center achieving Target Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll for the third consecutive year for rapid diagnosis and treatment of severe stroke patients requiring thrombectomy procedure. For this award, hospitals successfully treated at least 50% of qualified stroke patients within 90 minutes of arriving directly to their facility and within 60 minutes of arriving by EMS transport.

Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Twelve of the hospitals received the Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. 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.” The hospitals recognized for this award were: UH Ahuja, UH Cleveland, UH Elyria, UH Geauga, UH Geneva, UH Parma, UH Portage, UH Regional Hospitals, UH Samaritan UH, Southwest General, St. John’s and Western Reserve.  

“We are pleased to recognize University Hospitals for its commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said John Warner, MD, FAHA, past president of the American Heart Association and executive vice president for health system affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas. “Hospitals that follow the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols often see improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”

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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About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of more than 20 hospitals (including five joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and over 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship quaternary care, academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Oxford University and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The main campus also includes the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Ohio’s only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, with more than 3,000 active clinical trials and research studies underway. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to 19 Clinical Care Delivery and Research Institutes. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with more than 30,000 employees. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.

About Get With The Guidelines^®
Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to 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 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.