WVU Hospitals only hospital in state to hold national stroke honor
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Hospitals has become the only hospital in West Virginia to be recognized as a Target: Stroke Honor Roll hospital by the American Stroke Association for the WVU Stroke Center’s commitment and success in continued excellent care for stroke patients.
Target: Stroke is a national quality campaign to improve outcomes for ischemic stroke patients. Target: Stroke Honor Roll hospitals must maintain a minimum 50 percent number of acute ischemic stroke patients treated intravenously with a clot-busting drug called tPA in 60 minutes or less. Through the Target: Stroke campaign, hospital teams can work towards eliminating delays and reducing long-term disability in stroke patients.
A Target: Stroke Honor Roll hospital must also have previously been awarded an American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines Stroke Achievement Award. WVU Hospitals has received the Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines Award for following treatment guidelines in certain key measures at least 85 percent of the time and maintaining this level for 12 consecutive months. Some of the American Stroke Association Target: Stroke Honor Roll best practices include advance hospital notification by the emergency medical squad, rapid triage protocol and stroke team notification and rapid acquisition and interpretation of brain imaging scans.
For the last two years, WVU Hospitals has also been recognized with the American Stroke Association’s Gold Plus Honor award. It is one of only three hospitals in the West Virginia to hold the Gold Plus Honor award.
“Target: Stroke Honor Roll and the Gold Plus Awards are an indication of the quality of care patients with stroke receive from the moment they come through our emergency department until they are discharged,” WVU neurologist Laurie Gutmann, M.D., said. “It is based on national standards that are objective and compares us to all hospitals nationwide, including private hospitals and university or teaching hospitals. It is indicative of the teamwork that occurs at WVU Hospitals and is a testament to our devotion to good quality patient care.”
The WVU Stroke Center has an emergency response team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to evaluate a stroke and perform the appropriate treatment in time to minimize damage to the brain.
Target: Stroke is a national quality campaign to improve outcomes for ischemic stroke patients. Target: Stroke Honor Roll hospitals must maintain a minimum 50 percent number of acute ischemic stroke patients treated intravenously with a clot-busting drug called tPA in 60 minutes or less. Through the Target: Stroke campaign, hospital teams can work towards eliminating delays and reducing long-term disability in stroke patients.
A Target: Stroke Honor Roll hospital must also have previously been awarded an American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines Stroke Achievement Award. WVU Hospitals has received the Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines Award for following treatment guidelines in certain key measures at least 85 percent of the time and maintaining this level for 12 consecutive months. Some of the American Stroke Association Target: Stroke Honor Roll best practices include advance hospital notification by the emergency medical squad, rapid triage protocol and stroke team notification and rapid acquisition and interpretation of brain imaging scans.
For the last two years, WVU Hospitals has also been recognized with the American Stroke Association’s Gold Plus Honor award. It is one of only three hospitals in the West Virginia to hold the Gold Plus Honor award.
“Target: Stroke Honor Roll and the Gold Plus Awards are an indication of the quality of care patients with stroke receive from the moment they come through our emergency department until they are discharged,” WVU neurologist Laurie Gutmann, M.D., said. “It is based on national standards that are objective and compares us to all hospitals nationwide, including private hospitals and university or teaching hospitals. It is indicative of the teamwork that occurs at WVU Hospitals and is a testament to our devotion to good quality patient care.”
The WVU Stroke Center has an emergency response team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to evaluate a stroke and perform the appropriate treatment in time to minimize damage to the brain.