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Central Texas Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Gold Plus 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. 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.
CTMC 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.
“We are dedicated to giving the best care possible to our stroke patients,” CTMC President and CEO Anthony Stahl said. “Implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative gives us the opportunity to do so. The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidence-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
“We are pleased to recognize CTMC for their commitment to stroke care,” said Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, national chairman of the Quality Oversight Committee. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five 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.
Central Texas Medical Center, originated in 1923 as the Hays County Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Memorial Hospital. It opened at its current Wonder World Drive location in 1983. The CTMC staff of more than 700 employees works with more than 300 active and consulting physicians to provide quality services to patients and their families. For more than 20 consecutive years, CTMC has been named The Best Hospital in Hays County in the annual “Best of Hays” ballot released by the San Marcos Daily Record. In addition to interventional cardiac services, CTMC is a Certified Chest Pain Center and an accredited Primary Stroke Center. CTMC leads the region in da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery and offers a variety of specialty care services including medical imaging, rehabilitation, hospice, women’s services and more.
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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit American Heart Association's website.
