Adventist Health Glendale earns national recognition for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care

The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus award for proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care

Adventist Health Glendale has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

We also received three additional distinctions from the American Heart Association:

Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Honor Roll – Awarded to hospitals meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase.

Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll - Earned by meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.

Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll - Ensures patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. 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.

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 research- and evidence-based guidelines. The program is designed to improve stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to data-backed guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

“Adventist Health Glendale is committed to delivering outstanding patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” shared Dr. Lance Lee, neurologist, and Medical Director of our Comprehensive Stroke Center. “Get With The Guidelines helps our team to put proven knowledge to work on a daily basis, which in turn, can help improve our patients’ recovery. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community experience longer, healthier lives.”

Each year, program participants 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 Adventist Health Glendale for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “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.”