Wayne UNC Health Care Receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

American Heart Association Award Recognizes Commitment to Quality Stroke Care

Wayne UNC Health Care has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognized the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Wayne UNC 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.

“The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Guidelines are a benchmark for excellence in the quality of stroke care we deliver,” said Wayne UNC President & CEO Janie Jaberg. “We are focused on continued improvement, which means more education, more outreach and more support for our community.”

As part of this ongoing focus, Stroke Coordinator Sara Ginn also earned Stroke Certified Registered Nurse (SCRN®) certification, demonstrating expertise in stroke care.

Along with Gold Plus recognition, Wayne UNC also received the Target: Stroke℠ Honor Roll award. 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 tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke, strokes caused by obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain.

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.