GW Hospital Achieves Highest Stroke Recognition
The George Washington University Hospital Achieves Highest Stroke Recognition from American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Washington, DC — The George Washington University Hospital (GW Hospital) has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll. The award is the highest stroke recognition possible from the organizations. It recognizes GW Hospital’s commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures to receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
“We are honored to achieve this recognition representing our steadfast commitment to providing the highest quality stroke care,” says Kimberly Russo, Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of GW Hospital. “I am proud to say that our Comprehensive Stroke Team is constantly pushing the needle in providing best practice stroke care. I look forward to our team continuing its impressive efforts in providing the highest quality stroke care for the entire DC region.”
To qualify for the Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll, GW Hospital had to 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.
“During a stroke, time lost is brain lost," says Henry Kaminski, MD, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at GW Hospital, The GW Medical Faculty Associates and GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "The efficient use of tissue plasminogen activator can significantly improve the outcomes of a stroke patient. At GW Hospital, our multidisciplinary Comprehensive Stroke Team works closely together to provide this treatment. As part of our continued efforts toward excellence, we are always looking for new ways to innovate our care in order to better the lives of our patients.”
In addition to this award, GW Hospital is one of less than three percent of U.S. hospitals to hold accreditation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.