Washington Regional Recognized by Arkansas Department of Health for Excellence in Stroke Care
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) recently recognized Felicia May, an APRN with the Washington Regional Stroke Program, for her work in stroke patient care. May received the Transition of Care Award and is one of only four individuals in the state to earn this distinction for this program year. This award recognizes the exceptional efforts of individuals in supporting stroke patients and their families following a stroke.
The Arkansas Department of Health also recognized Washington Regional Medical Center for adherence to defect-free stroke care measures with a Diamond award, the highest achievement possible. Washington Regional is the only large hospital in the state to be recognized in the Diamond category. The awards recognized 40 hospitals throughout the state and are based on stroke care performance as documented in the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines Stroke Registry for patients discharged from July 2023 through June 2024. They are awarded in three categories to hospitals for adherence to defect-free stroke care:
- Diamond: 95%+
- Ruby: 90%-94.99%
- Pearl: 85%-89.99%
Defect-free care is an aggregated metric based on the ten American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Coverdell performance measures in the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Patient Management Tool. These measures are benchmarked according to the standards of evidence-based stroke care guidelines to ensure stroke patients receive appropriate and timely care.
Washington Regional also achieved recognition in the Ruby category for stroke band documentation, and recognition in the Pearl category for door-to-CT times. Stroke band documentation facilitates improved data collection for quality improvement while faster door-to-CT times improve the likelihood of positive patient outcomes.
Washington Regional is the only hospital in Northwest Arkansas certified by the Joint Commission as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and is the only hospital in the region to provide 24/7 in-person care from stroke experts specially trained in stroke diagnosis, care and rehabilitation.