Central Carolina Hospital earns GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award
Central Carolina Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke (GWTG-S) GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award.
- Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (1888PressRelease) June 30, 2011 - The award recognizes Central Carolina Hospital's commitment to improving the quality of care for stroke patients and in reducing the risk of secondary events.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award demonstrates our commitment to being one of the top hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care," said Ursula Lawrence, Chief Nursing Officer at CCH. "We will continue with our focus on providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols."
This GOLD PLUS designation means Central Carolina Hospital achieved of 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals, and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 GWTG-S Quality Measures.
These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.
The GWTG program provides hospitals with a web-based Patient Management Tool,™ that gives healthcare providers access to online up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care, decision support, a robust registry, real-time benchmarking capabilities and other performance improvement methodologies aimed at saving lives and improving patient outcomes, including customized patient education materials provided to patients when they are discharged, based on patients' individual risk profiles. These materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish and use the "teachable moment," the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to follow their healthcare professionals' recommendations. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.
"Central Carolina Hospital is to be commended for its commitment to implementing standards of care and protocols for treating stroke patients," said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the GWTG National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients."
"The time is right for Central Carolina Hospital to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population," added Lawrence.
About Central Carolina Hospital:
Central Carolina Hospital, part of Tenet North Carolina, is a 137-bed acute care hospital located at 1135 Carthage Street in Sanford, N.C. Central Carolina Hospital serves the medical and health care needs of Lee County and surrounding counties. Central Carolina Hospital offers a wide range of programs and services including emergency services, outpatient rehabilitation programs, advanced diagnostic imaging, inpatient and outpatient surgery, and maternity services. Central Carolina Hospital also provides cardiology services including cardiac catheterization, echocardiography, and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs. The hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about the hospital, visit www.centralcarolinahospital.com.
About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.
Contact: Margaret Minuth
Director of Marketing & Public Relations
919-774-2194 (office) or 919-353-2600 (cell)
Margaret.minuth ( @ ) tenethealth dot com
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