Florida Hospitals Receive Get With the Guidelines Awards

VOLUSIA AND FLAGLER COUNTIES, June 16, 2016 The Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties have each received a Get With the Guidelines performance achievement award from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The award levels are based on quality measures, designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling. The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize Florida Hospital for its commitment to stroke care, said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program. By implementing the guidelines and showing results, each of the Florida Hospitals in the East Florida Region received a different level of the award. Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand: Florida Hospital DeLand received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll. The award recognizes Florida Hospital DeLand's commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. To receive the Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award, Florida Hospital DeLand achieved an 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieved a 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll, Florida Hospital DeLand met quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patients 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. Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City and Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast: Florida Hospital Fish Memorial and Florida Hospital Flagler both received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations Get With The Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus quality achievement award. The award recognizes the hospitals commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. To receive the Silver Plus quality achievement award, Florida Hospital Fish Memorial and Florida Hospital Flagler both achieved an 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for at least 12 consecutive months. During the same period, both facilities also achieved a 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach: Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus. The award recognizes Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Centers commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. To receive the Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center achieved an 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieved a 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center met quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patients 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. Florida Hospital New Smyrna in New Smyrna Beach: Florida Hospital New Smyrna received the American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold quality achievement award. The award recognizes Florida Hospital New Smyrna's commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. To receive the Gold quality achievement award, Florida Hospital New Smyrna achieved an 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods. A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely, said Maryann Fields, Florida Hospital East Florida Region director of neurosciences services. Florida Hospital continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. This recognition from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association further reinforces our teams hard work. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospitals ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal to save lives and improve recovery time, Get With The Guidelines has impacted more than 3 million patients since 2003. About Florida Hospital East Florida Region A member of Adventist Health System, Florida Hospitals mission is to extend the healing ministry of Christ. Encompassing six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region is the largest hospital system in the area, with 899 beds and nearly 5,900 employees. The Florida Hospital East Florida Region includes Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand, Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach, and Florida Hospital Oceanside in Ormond Beach. In April 2016, the sixth facility was added to the Florida Hospital East Florida Region family: Florida Hospital New Smyrna (formerly Bert Fish Medical Center) in New Smyrna Beach.