Award Demonstrates UMass Memorial's Commitment to Quality Care
for Stroke Patients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2011
Contact: Rob
Brogna
508-793-5394
774-317-0422
Robert.brogna@umassmemorial.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/umassmemorial
WORCESTER - UMass 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 Medical Center's commitment and success in implementing excellent care for
stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.
To receive the award, UMass Memorial achieved 85 percent or higher adherence
to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or
more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance
with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are
reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.
These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA,
antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing
drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and
improving the lives of stroke patients.
"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The
Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award demonstrates the
commitment of UMass Memorial Medical Center to being one of the top hospitals in
the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care," said Majaz Moonis,
MD, director of stroke services, UMass Memorial Medical Center. "We will
continue with our focus on providing care that has been shown in the scientific
literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based
protocols."
"UMass Memorial Medical Center is to be commended for its
commitment to implementing standards of care and protocols for treating stroke
patients," said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, chair of the Get With The Guidelines
National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and 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."
Get With The Guidelines-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 Get With The Guidelines-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 Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool gives healthcare providers
access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
"The time is right for UMass Memorial to be focused on improving the quality
of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines-Stroke. The number of
acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over
the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging
population," said Dr. Moonis.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association,
stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability
in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds;
someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or
recurrent stroke each year.
About UMass Memorial Medical Center
UMass Memorial
Medical Center is the advanced tertiary care referral center for Central New
England. The Medical Center offers a full complement of sophisticated technology
and support services necessary to provide the region with specialists renowned
for their work in areas such as cardiology, cancer, diabetes and orthopedics. To
learn more about UMass Memorial, please visit www.umassmemorial.org, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines® is
the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based
quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and
reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines
and recommendations. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.