CentraState Medical Center, for a fourth year in a row, has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold-Plus Achievement Award.The award recognizes CentraState’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence based guidelines.To receive the Gold Plus award, CentraState achieved 75 percent or higher compliance for two or more consecutive 12- month intervals with five of 10 Get With The Guidelines Stroke Quality Measures.
CentraState also earned the association’s Gold award for demonstrating at least 85 percent compliance in each of the seven Get With The Guidelines Stroke Achievement Measures.
In addition to the Gold Plus and Gold awards, CentraState is also the recipient of the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll for improving stroke care, and is among an elite group of hospitals who have earned this recognition. Over the past year, at least 87.5 percent of eligible ischemic stroke patients have received IV rt-PA within 60 minutes of arriving at CentraState’s Emergency Department.
According to the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. 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. CentraState Medical Center is a Primary Stroke Center with licensed certification from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. CentraState has a specially trained Stroke Alert response team that includes an Emergency Department (ED) physician, neurologist, ED registered nurse, and a stroke coordinator, all of whom have special training in caring for stroke patients.The team is available around the clock to assess patients immediately upon their arrival at CentraState’s Emergency Department and initiate appropriate treatment, which may include the administration of a “clot busting” medication. CentraState’s stroke team 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. For more information about CentraState’s Stroke Center, call 866-CENTRA7 (866-236-8727) or visit centrastate.com/stroke.