Adventist Health Hanford receives Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award

Adventist Health Hanford has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Silver 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.

The hospital 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, have a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“Receiving this award within one year of launching our Stroke Program shows our team’s dedication to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients,” says Laurie Taggart, patient care executive at Adventist Health in the Central Valley.

In the midst of COVID-19, Frank Gavini, MD, and medical officer for Adventist Health in the Central Valley stresses the importance of patients seeking emergency care, if experiencing stroke symptoms, such as drooping of the face, weakness in the arms, or difficulty speaking. “Patients should not be afraid to receive care in the hospital,” says Gavini. “We can assure our communities that we always isolate suspected COVID-19 patients from our other patients and follow state and federal guidelines to keep everyone safe.”

In addition to the Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award, Adventist Health Hanford received the association’s Target Type 2 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.

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.