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Memorial receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

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Fri, May 26th 2017 04:25 pm
American Heart Association Award recognizes commitment to quality stroke care
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital's commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
 
To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods, and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.
 
These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anticlotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.
 
"A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely," said medical center President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo. "Niagara Falls Memorial continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team's hard work."
 
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has also met specific guidelines as a New York State Department of Health-designated stroke center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.
 
"The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize Memorial for its commitment to stroke care," said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee, and professor of medicine at Stanford University. "Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program."
 
Get With The Guidelines-S puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospital care teams ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal to save lives and improve recovery time, Get With The Guidelines-S has impacted more than 3 million patients since 2003.
 
As a nurse and former stroke coordinator, Teri Ackerson is aware that every second counts when a stroke strikes. In May 2013, the training she used to help others helped save her own life. Ackerson's left arm suddenly went numb, she felt the left side of her face droop and she was unable to speak. Despite her symptoms, Ackerson remained calm, made note of the timing of her symptoms and, with the help of her son, proceeded to get treatment quickly.
 
"Hospitals that follow AHA/ASA recommended guidelines not only know the importance to treat quickly with tPA, but they also follow evidence-based research that helps to determine why you had a stroke in the first place and report these findings," said Ackerson, 46, who completed a marathon 26 days after her stroke. "Without the treatment I received, I would not have recovered as well as I did."
 
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 U.S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
 
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is a full-service, 171-bed regional medical center with extensive inpatient and outpatient services including The Heart Center of Niagara, Niagara Wellness Connection Center, Wound Center of Niagara, Diabetes & Endocrinology Center of Niagara, Niagara Metabolic & Bariatric Services, two OB/GYN Centers and UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine.
 
To learn more, visit NFMMC.org. To learn more about Get With The Guidelines, visit heart.org.

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