FT. LAUDERDALE, FL -- North Shore Medical Center FMC Campus has received the 2009 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award.

The award recognizes FMC Campus's commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.
To receive the award, FMC Campus showed an 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Performance 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.  "The Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award demonstrates FMC Campus's commitment to being one of the top U.S. hospitals for providing aggressive, proven stroke care," said Anthony W. Vito, RN, Stroke Program Coordinator.  "We will continue focusing on providing care shown in the scientific literature to quickly, efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols."

"FMC Campus 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. "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 a stroke has occurred, when patients are most likely to listen and follow the guidance of medical professionals. Studies demonstrate that patients who learn to manage risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

Through Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, customized education materials are available when patients leave the hospital.. The easy-to-understand materials are available in English and Spanish. The Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool gives healthcare providers access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science.

The time is right for FMC Campus to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing With The Guidelines–Stroke. "The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade because of increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population," said Vito.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. 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.