MUSC Health Florence Medical Center receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

American Heart Association Award recognizes MUSC Florence’s commitment to quality stroke care

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center is proud to share it has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus & Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

MUSC Health Florence earned the award 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

“The American Heart Associations’ Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative is an important part of improving quality care for our patients,” said MUSC Health Florence Division Chief Executive Officer Vance Reynolds. “Because of this initiative, we have access to tools and resources ensuring the best outcomes and measuring our success in meeting evidence-based clinical guidelines.”

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center additionally received the Association’s: Target: StrokeSM Elite Honor Roll award. To qualify for this 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.

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

“It is fitting the Care Team at MUSC Health Florence be recognized for their outstanding efforts to take care of our patients who have a stroke,” said MUSC Health neurologist and medical director of the stroke center Dr. Elijah Owens. “Part of what distinguishes our Primary Stroke Center is our advanced diagnostic capabilities and treatments for routine brain attacks as well as complex stroke cases. Patients can be assured we are committed to the highest level of certain standards regarding diagnosis, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation with the ultimate goal of reducing the time between stroke onset and treatment.”

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.

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About Get With The Guidelines®

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s 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 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.