American Heart Association Award recognizes OakBend Medical Center’s commitment to quality stroke care
Photo left to right:
Michelle Ziakas – VP Nursing, Tim McCarty – VP Support Services, Sue McCarty – VP and Chief Nursing Office and Bhavisha Patel – Quality Manager
Richmond, tx, May 28 2018 ― OakBend Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for both its Jackson Street and Williams Way locations. 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.
OakBend Medical Center earned the award by meeting 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.
“OakBend 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 Joe Freudenberger, CEO of OakBend Medical Center. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Additionally, the hospital’s Jackson Street location received the association’s Target: StrokeSM 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. An ischemeic stroke occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. It accounts for 87 percent of all stroke cases.
“We are pleased to recognize OakBend Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “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.
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About OakBend Medical Center:
OakBend Medical Center is an independent, nonprofit community hospital based in Fort Bend County, providing exemplary service in its two full-service hospitals and many specialty centers. As a community hospital system, caring for our patients is personal. Our patients are our neighbors, our family, and our friends. We act with integrity and compassion, each of our staff takes ownership of providing the highest quality care and we have an absolute commitment to excellence in all that we do.
OakBend Medical Center distinguishes itself among its healthcare peers in Fort Bend County by housing several unique programs and facilities including:
- No Wait Emergency Room
- Hospital-based Skilled Nursing Facility
- Neonatal ICU – Level II
- Advanced Trauma Program
- Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Unit
- Geriatric Psychiatric Program
- Permanent Hospital-based Air Ambulance
For more information, please visit www.oakbendmedcenter.org. Connect with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
About Get With The Guidelines®
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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.