Washington Regional Receives National Stroke Care Recognition
Washington Regional Medical Center recently received four American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines® Achievement Awards for stroke care.
Washington Regional earned the Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus with Elite Plus Honor Roll, Advanced Therapy, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards, which recognize the hospital’s commitment to ensuring patients experiencing stroke receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. Washington Regional met specific criteria to achieve each award:
Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus
Washington Regional earned this recognition by reaching an aggressive goal of treating patients in accordance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for two consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, hospitals earning this recognition have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period. This is the sixth consecutive year Washington Regional has achieved the Gold Plus designation.
Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus Honor Roll award
To qualify for this recognition, Washington Regional met quality measures to reduce the time between a patient’s arrival to the hospital and thrombolytic treatment with intravenous clot-busting medication to reduce the effects of stroke and lower the chance of permanent disability. This is the second time Washington Regional has earned this designation.
Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award
Hospitals that qualify for this recognition achieved treatment times (known as “Door to Needle” and “Door to Device” times) of 90 minutes or less in 50% of applicable stroke patients arriving directly to our facility and within 60 minutes or less for transport patients. This is the second consecutive year Washington Regional has achieved this recognition.
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Washington Regional achieved this recognition by meeting quality measures developed by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association with an Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score of 80% or greater. This is the third consecutive year Washington Regional has achieved the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award, which was introduced in 2020.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading 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 stroke each year. As the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to be certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, Washington Regional is equipped to treat the most complex stroke cases and provides a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients that includes 24/7 in-person care with stroke experts, a dedicated neurosurgical intensive care unit, neuro progressive unit, and specialty clinics that provide follow up care and education.
“Washington Regional is honored to once again be recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for our dedication to providing patients with the best possible chance of survival and recovery after a stroke,” Washington Regional Director of Neuro Services Kasha Pinkerton said. “The tools and resources provided by the Get With The Guidelines® program help us measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
“We are pleased to recognize Washington Regional for its commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said John Warner, MD, FAHA, past president of the American Heart Association and executive vice president for health system affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Hospitals that follow the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols often see improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”