Milford Regional Medical Center Receives
American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines
Gold Performance Achievement Award
Milford Regional Medical Center received the GWTG-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement from the American Stroke Association for the second consecutive time. Milford Regional administration and stroke team members accepting the award include (left to right), front row: William Tosches, MD, neurologist; Annette Roberts, RN, clinical data analyst and stroke team coordinator; Theresa Glidden, MD, pulmonary and critical care specialist; Liz Renzi, RN, education coordinator; Jennifer Childs-Roshak, MD, director of quality; Edward J. Kelly, president. Back row: Jeffrey Hopkins, MD, medical director, emergency department and co-chair of the stroke team; William Muller, MD, vice-president of medical affairs.
June 2010
Milford Regional Medical Center recently received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM–Stroke (GWTG–Stroke) Gold Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Milford Regional’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment for at least 24 months according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.
“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG–Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time,” said Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins, Director of the Emergency Department and Co-Chair of the Stroke Team at MRMC. Milford Regional Medical Center has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologistsavailable to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
To receive the GWTG-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award, Milford Regional demonstrated 85% adherence in the GWTG–Stroke key measures for 24 or more consecutive months. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation.
“The American Stroke Association commends Milford Regional Medical Center for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee Member and director of the 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.”
GWTG–Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. 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. Through GWTG–Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the GWTG Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
“At Milford Regional Medical Center, we are committed to providing excellent patient care. We are proud to have been recognized with the Gold Award, as this demonstrates our success in delivering quality care to stroke patients,” said Dr. Hopkins.
According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 700,000 people suffer a stroke — 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent. Of stroke survivors, 21 percent of men and 24 percent of women die within a year, and for those aged 65 and older, the percentage is even higher.