The American Stroke Association’s Laurie Saint Clair, third from right, presents DCMH officials with a certificate noting the hospital’s recent accomplishment in reaching the first level of the ASA’s ‘Get With The Guidelines’ program. Accepting the award on behalf of DCMH are, from left, Ayesha Mahmood, M.D., DCMH neurologist; William McCune, president of DCMH; Maureen DePrince, R.N., DCMH Stroke Program coordinator; Saint Clair; Mark Woodward, M.D., chief of the Section of Neurology at DCMH and medical director of the DCMH Stroke Program; and Marge Snyder, office coordinator for Drs. Woodward and Mahmood.
Drexel Hill, Pa. – Delaware County Memorial Hospital, a member of Crozer-Keystone Health System, was recently commended by the American Stroke Association for reaching the first level of achievement in its “Get With The Guidelines” initiative, a national drive to ensure stroke patients are treated and discharged appropriately.
“DCMH is proud to be a leader in health care for our community,” says William McCune, president of Delaware County Memorial Hospital. “By beginning the process of becoming a nationally recognized leader in stroke care, we hope to make DCMH the hospital of choice for those in our community who are suffering the effects of stroke or who may be at risk for having a stroke in the future.”
To recognize its achievement, DCMH was presented with a framed certificate from the American Stroke Association.
“Get With The Guidelines” is an in-hospital program designed by the American Stroke Association to improve acute stroke treatment and prevent future strokes and cardiovascular events. It focuses on quick diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients through Primary Stroke Centers. It also involves care team protocols once patients are admitted to ensure that they are treated and discharged appropriately.
To continue to establish itself as a nationally recognized leader in stroke care, DCMH has formed a multi-disciplinary committee led by medical director Mark Woodward, M.D., chief of the Section of Neurology at DCMH, and has appointed Maureen DePrince, R.N., as the hospital’s stroke coordinator.
In implementing “Get With The Guidelines,” DCMH was required to develop a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the Emergency Department. This includes being equipped 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
To receive the award, DCMH consistently complied for 90 days with the requirements in the Get With The Guidelines program. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis and cholesterol reducing drugs, as well as smoking cessation programs. The 90-day evaluation period is the first in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain the award.
“The American Stroke Association commends Delaware County Memorial Hospital for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” says Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee Member and director of acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving lives and improving outcomes for stroke patients.”
Get With The Guidelines uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had an acute event, when he or she is most likely to listen to and follow health care professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population. Each year, about 700,000 people suffer a stroke (500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent). Of stroke survivors, 22 percent of men and 25 percent of women die within a year, and for those aged 65 and over, the percentage is even higher. In 1999, $3.4 billion was paid to Medicare beneficiaries discharged from short-stay hospitals following stroke. Americans were estimated to pay about $5.6 billion in 2005 for stroke-related medical costs and disability.
The American Stroke Association offers a wide array of programs, products and services, from patient education materials to scientific statements with cutting-edge information for health care professionals. The organization, a division of the American Heart Association, is a committed leader in providing credible stroke information to individuals and health care providers. For more information about the American Stroke Association or its initiatives, visit www.strokeassociation.org, or call 1-888-4-STROKE.
Delaware County Memorial Hospital is a member of Crozer-Keystone Health System, the largest provider of health care services in Delaware County. For more information about Crozer-Keystone, visit www.crozer.org, or call 1-800-CK-HEALTH (1-800-254-3258).