Get With the Guidelines–Stroke is a quality improvement program that helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Gold is the highest of three levels of achievement awards; Gold-Plus is an optional advanced level of recognition acknowledging hospitals for consistent compliance with quality measures.
Eastside Medical Center 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 aggressive use of medications and risk-reduction therapies aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.
“Our team at Eastside Medical Center is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines–Stroke helps us achieve that goal,” said Kim Ryan, CEO for Eastside Medical Center.” This award is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our caregivers,” Ryan added. “Our team prides itself on providing the best possible care for stroke patients in Gwinnett County and beyond.”
Ryan says Eastside Medical Center is a neurology leader and has been certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission since 2008. She says Eastside’s lifesaving tele-neurology program reaches far beyond Gwinnett County and offers immediate 24/7 access to a board certified neurologist which is critical for improving stroke outcomes through early identification.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With the Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce patients’ length of stays and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparity gaps in care.
Eastside Medical Center’s wellness initiative, Live Healthy Gwinnett, will be hosting seven “Walk the Talk’s” during the month of May, being National Stroke Awareness Month. The topic will be, “Decreasing your risk of stroke” and the first walk, Saturday, May 10, 2014 from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. at Vines Park will be led by Kim Ryan, CEO of Eastside Medical Center.
Visit www.livehealthygwinnett.com for the May schedule.
About Eastside Medical Center
Eastside Medical Center has been a leader for 33 years in a wide range of state of the art healthcare, including emergency services, neurosurgery, orthopedics, women’s services, neurosciences, oncology, cardiology and behavioral health. Eastside is a 310-bed, full-service, acute care medical center with nearly 1,200 employees and 500 affiliated physicians. The hospital is fully accredited by The Joint Commission. The Eastside Medical Center – South Campus located on Fountain Drive off of Highway 78 in Snellville, provides inpatient psychiatric treatment for adults. It also has a Wound Clinic, Pain Center, and 20-bed Rehab Center.
