St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro recently received its first American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association (AHA) achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment, including rapid treatment in accord with AHA’s nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
Good Samaritan Hospital received AHA’s 2022 Silver-Plus award for stroke care. The Silver-Plus award recognizes Good Samaritan Hospital for adhering to AHA’s guidelines for stroke care for 12 months in a row.
“I am as proud as I can be of our colleagues and providers,” Good Samaritan Hospital President Tanya Adcock said. “It has taken a tremendous amount of commitment, dedication and teamwork to build our stroke program to this level. Now we’re setting our sights on continuously maintaining and updating our practices to reach the next level.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and accelerating recovery times.
AHA’s Get With the Guidelines program sets standards for stroke care that emphasize rapid diagnosis and, when safe and appropriate, the administration of the clot-busting drug alteplase. Additional standards cover a number of stroke-related issues, from testing for problems with speech and swallowing to education on how to prevent a second stroke.
“Studies show that care in compliance with these guidelines can help patients recover better,” Adcock said. “The end goal is to ensure more people in the greater Greene County area can experience longer, healthier lives.”
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest researchand evidence-based guidelines. Get With the Guidelines-Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
Each year, participating hospitals qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With the Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions, and lower mortality rates–a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital also is designated by the state as a Remote Treatment Stroke Center. It was the first hospital in Georgia to receive this designation. Additionally, St. Mary’s Hospital is the only hospital in the greater Athens region to offer mechanical thrombectomy 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
While not included in the Get With the Guidelines criteria, this emergency procedure can physically remove the large-vessel blood clots that cause some of the worst strokes. When used in conjunction with the drug alteplase, it has a high success rate in reducing disability and promoting faster recovery.
All three hospitals in the St. Mary’s system were recognized by AHA in the 2022 Get With the Guidelines-Stroke program.
– Contributed