Baptist Health Care Earns National Recognition for Stroke Treatment
10/28/2021
Baptist Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Quality Achievement Award, and Gulf Breeze Hospital has received the Gold Plus, Target Stroke Honor Roll, Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Get With The Guidelines awards for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. 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. Early stroke detection and treatment are keys to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times.
Get With The Guidelines - Stroke was developed to assist health care professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.
“We are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping our patients have the best possible chance of survival after a stroke,” said Scott Raynes, senior vice president, acute care, Baptist Health Care. “The pandemic never disrupted our clinical teams; their continuous focus was on providing high-quality services for all patients. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis to improve outcomes for stroke patients.”
Each year, program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients by meeting specified quality measures for diagnosis and treatment. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.
“We are pleased to recognize Baptist Hospital and Gulf Breeze Hospital for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and executive vice chair of neurology, director of acute stroke services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”