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Renown Regional Medical Center earns award for stroke care

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RENOWN NEWS RELEASE

Renown Regional Medical Center has received the 2011 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes Renown Regional Medical Center’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

To receive the award, Renown achieved 85 percent or higher adherence all seven Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and this demonstrates Renown Regional’s commitment to being one of the top hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said David Veillette, executive vice president of specialty hospitals for Renown Health. “We will continue with our focus on providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols.”

“Renown Regional Medical Center is to be commended for its commitment to implementing standards of care and protocols for treating stroke patients,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the Get With The Guidelines National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and 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 the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

“Get With The Guidelines–Stroke” uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare 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–Stroke,” 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 “Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool” gives healthcare providers access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

“The time is right for Renown Regional Medical Center to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing ‘Get With The Guidelines–Stroke,” Veillette said. “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.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every three minutes and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

For more information on “Get With The Guidelines,” visit www.americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.

About Renown Institute for Neurosciences

Renown Institute for Neurosciences, the only one of its kind in northern Nevada, is dedicated to ensuring world-class neurological treatment is available right here at home. Patients with neurological disorders, including strokes and aneurysms, receive state-of-the art treatment without being referred outside of our community. The institute’s specialists combine their expertise and experience with the most advanced technology to handle complex neurological cases.

Services include the latest treatments for stroke, muscular dystrophy, ALS, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, as well as neurosurgery and interventional radiology. For those who have suffered an illness requiring rehabilitation, a team of highly skilled nurses, physicians and therapists helps patients regain their independence and improve their quality of life.

Renown’s Comprehensive Stroke Center became the first in Nevada to earn the Gold Seal of Approval Primary Stroke Center certification for stroke care by The Joint Commission. This prestigious certification signifies that the Comprehensive Stroke Center meets the highest national standards for healthcare safety and quality of care.

The Renown Institute for Neurosciences also hosts stroke support groups on the second Wednesday of every month from 6 to 7 p.m. at Renown Rehabilitation Hospital, 1495 Mill St. These meetings are offered for stroke survivors, their family members, friends and caregivers. Topics will vary my month. Please contact 775-982-6201 to confirm.

About “Get With The Guidelines”
“Get With The Guidelines” is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. For more information, visit heart.org/quality

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