For the fourth year in a row, the Roslyn-based St. Francis Hospital has received the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.
Get With The Guidelines Stroke helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence -based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.
St. Francis earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include aggressive use of medications and risk-reduction therapies aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.
“St. Francis Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care and adhering to these specific guidelines which helps us achieve that goal,” said Jack Soterakis, M.D., SVP of Medical Affairs & Medical Director. “With this award, our hospital demonstrates our commitment to ensure that our patients receive care based on internationally-respected clinical guidelines.”
“We are pleased to recognize St. Francis for its commitment and dedication to stroke care,” added Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., MPH, national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce patients’ length of stays and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparity gaps in care.”
The guidelines also help St. Francis staff implement prevention measures, which include educating stroke patients to manage their risk factors and to be aware of warning signs for stroke, and ensuring they take their medications properly. Hospitals can make customized patient education materials available upon discharge, based on the patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format in either English or Spanish.
— Submitted by St. Francis Hospital
