Saint Joseph Hospital Receives Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award - Archived

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Saint Joseph Hospital Receives
Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

American Heart Association recognizes Saint Joseph Hospital’s commitment to quality stroke care

Lexington, Ky. (July 30, 2018) – Saint Joseph Hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The awards recognize the hospital’s commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

The hospital earned the awards 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.

“Saint Joseph Hospital is committed to providing quality care for stroke patients, and we are proud to be recognized with the American Heart Association’s Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award,” said Bruce Tassin, CEO, KentuckyOne Health.

Saint Joseph Hospital also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite. To qualify for the 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.

“We are pleased to recognize Saint Joseph Hospital for its commitment to stroke care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “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.”

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.

Jewish Hospital and Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital also received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. These two hospitals are located in Louisville, Ky.

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, part of Catholic Health Initiatives, is one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and includes hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.

About Saint Joseph Hospital
Saint Joseph Hospital is a nationally recognized tertiary medical center located in Lexington, KY. The 433-bed hospital primarily serves central and eastern Kentucky with a full range of services including distinguished awards for cardiology, orthopedics and stroke care. Saint Joseph Hospital is Lexington’s first hospital. Founded in 1877, by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky, the hospital’s original mission was to provide compassionate care to the poor and underserved – a tradition still carried out today.

About Get With The Guidelines®
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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit www.heart.org.

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