UHS earns national recognition for high-quality stroke care

UHS Wilson Medical Center, home of the region’s most comprehensive stroke program, has received the 2024 American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association’s (ASA) Get With the Guidelines—Stroke Gold PLUS Quality Achievement Award. The hospital also earned the recognition of Target — Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll for our commitment to providing research-based, high-quality stroke care for presenting patients with type 2 diabetes. UHS was additionally honored to receive the Target – Stroke Honor Roll recognition.

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 evidence- and research-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

These awards recognize UHS’ commitment to implementing a higher standard of stroke care and our success in ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award

• To receive the special award, UHS showed that it consistently followed the program’s treatment guidelines for 24 consecutive months, demonstrating how the 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.

Target: Stroke Honor Roll

• To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.

Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must ensure 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.

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 795,000 people suffer strokes. Of that number, 610,000 are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States is suffering from a stroke, accounting for one in every 18 deaths in the U.S. But quick treatment at a hospital or medical center properly staffed and equipped to deal with strokes can save lives and minimize the damage strokes can cause, studies have shown. That’s why it’s important to come to UHS Wilson Medical Center as soon as you are experiencing the signs of a potential stroke, where a team of stroke neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuro- interventional surgeons, nurses, and other clinicians are available 24/7 to immediately provide the most appropriate treatment options for you.

Learn more about UHS Stroke Care by clicking here.