Methodist Hospital, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital are recognized for their success in utilizing the Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke program.
San Antonio, Texas ― August 2019 ― Methodist Hospital, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital received American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: StrokeSM awards. Both Methodist Hospital and Methodist Stone Oak Hospital were given the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus as well as the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award. Northeast Methodist Hospital received Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Methodist Hospital, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital earned the awards 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.
These three hospitals are dedicated to improving the quality of care for stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative and utilizing the tools and resources provided to help track and measure success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.
To qualify for the association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus and Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite 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.
“Because stroke is the third leading cause of death in San Antonio, we are committed to leveraging nationally-recognized best practices to ensure the most optimal outcomes for our stroke patients,” said Paul Hancock, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Methodist Healthcare System. “We are proud of Methodist Hospital, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital for achieving these honors because of the significant impact it has on our community.”
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.
About Methodist Healthcare
Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio is the largest provider of health care in South and Central Texas with 28 facilities, including ten hospitals and two free-standing emergency departments, serving over 608,000 inpatients and outpatients annually. The Methodist Healthcare team is comprised of 11,000, making Methodist Healthcare the second largest private employer in San Antonio. The Texas Quality Foundation selected Methodist Healthcare to receive the 2014 Texas Award for Performance Excellence. Methodist Healthcare is the first and only health care system in South Texas to receive this award, which requires an organization to demonstrate its commitment to the highest quality standards. With more than 2,700 credentialed physicians, Methodist Healthcare provides the largest array of medical services in the region, including neurosurgery, cardiovascular services, oncology and women’s services. Visit www.SAHealth.com to learn more.
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.