American Heart Association Award recognizes CentraState Medical Center’s commitment to quality stroke care

CentraState Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Recipients of the award meet specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions

“CentraState Medical Center is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Cathleen Janzekovich, PhD, MA, RN-BC, NEA-BC, vice president, chief nursing officer of CentraState. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

CentraState Medical Center additionally received three other distinctions and awards:

• The Association’s Target: Stroke^SM Honor Roll award; to qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
• The Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award; to qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90 % of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
• Recognition as a Primary Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted through the emergency department. CentraState Medical Center has met specific scientific guidelines for all stroke patients, including door-to-needle in under 60 minutes, stroke education, and assessment for rehabilitation, amongst many other guidelines. The treatment of CentraState Medical Center’s stroke patients does not end in the emergency room; each patient is followed by a team of specialists throughout their entire stay to ensure the best possible outcome. By adhering to evidence-based AHA/ASA guidelines, Centrastate is committed to lowering life-altering disabilities and lowering mortality rates.

“We are pleased to recognize CentraState Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 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 new or recurrent stroke each year.

ABOUT CENTRASTATE

CentraState Healthcare System is a fully accredited, not-for-profit, community-based health system that provides comprehensive health services in the central New Jersey region. In addition to offering a full range of leading-edge diagnostic and treatment options, CentraState serves as a valuable health partner focused on the latest ways to prevent disease, promote healthy behaviors, and help people of all ages live life well. Based in Freehold, CentraState is comprised of a 284-bed acute-care hospital, a vibrant health and wellness campus, three award-winning senior living communities, a charitable foundation, and four convenient satellite health pavilions. The system also offers a family medicine residency and geriatric fellowship training program in affiliation with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Among its many honors and accreditations, CentraState is one of only 2 percent of hospitals nationwide to earn Magnet® designation for nursing excellence four times. To learn more, visit centrastate.com.

About Get With The Guidelines^®

Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.