ACMC(Ashtabula County Medical Center;Ashtabula, OH) earns two awards

Big fucking whoopee.

 

 But you tell us NOTHING ABOUT RESULTS. They remind us they 'care' about us  but never tell us how many 100% recovered.

Three measurements will tell me if the stroke hospital is possibly not completely incompetent; DO YOU MEASURE ANYTHING?

1. tPA full recovery? Better than 12%?
2. 30 day deaths? Better than competitors?

3. rehab full recovery? Better than 10%?

 

You'll want to know results so call that hospital president(Whoever that is) and demand to know what the RESULTS are for; tPA efficacy, 30 day deaths, 100% recovery. Because there is no point in going to that hospital if they are not willing to publish results.

The invalid chest thumping here:

 

ACMC(Ashtabula County Medical Center;Ashtabula, OH) earns two awards

ASHTABULA — Ashtabula County Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The hospital also received the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award.

The awards recognize 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.

“ACMC is dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to our stroke patients,” said ACMC Healthcare System President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Habowski. “The tools and resources provided in the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Signs and symptoms of stroke can happen in a matter of seconds. Recognizing the signs and getting medical treatment immediately are keys to minimizing the long-term impact of stroke. Timely treatment is especially important for stroke caused by a blood clot. A medication called a tissue plasminogen activator, or alteplase, can destroy the clot and restore blood flow. However, it must be given within four-and-a-half hours of the stroke’s start.

As the only Primary Stroke Center in Ashtabula County, ACMC has an expert team who work together to determine the best course of action for the patient. The stroke team consists of caregivers from the emergency department, neurology, radiology, pharmacy, laboratory and respiratory therapy.

Even before a potential stroke patient arrives at ACMC’s Emergency Department, doctors are in communication with emergency medical services personnel to begin the stroke assessment and to launch internal stroke protocols. The protocol ensures the patient will be assessed face-to-face by a physician, vital signs recorded, blood sugar evaluated, and then will be sent for a CT scan and sometimes CT angiography of brain and neck to determine the nature of stroke and eligibility for recombinant tissue Plasminogen Activator (rtPA).

The stroke protocol is a set of evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. The protocol also includes education and having a follow up visit scheduled before being discharged from the hospital.

“We established our stroke protocols several years ago, with a focus on response time,” said Dr. Imraan Haniff, the Medical Director of the ACMC Emergency Department. “We know that long-term and permanent brain damage increases as more time passes from the onset of symptoms to treatment.”

The median time for door-to-CT scan at ACMC is 24 minutes. The national average is more than 34 minutes, according to hospital officials.

ACMC received the Association’s Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll award by meeting 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 alteplase, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

ACMC’s median time to a patient receiving the alteplase medicine is 50 minutes. The average for hospitals not using American Heart Association guidelines is 70 minutes, according to hospital officials.

“Time is essential for patients having a stroke,” said ACMC Neurologist, Dr. Preetha Muthusamy. “Though American Heart Association 2019 guidelines allow rtPA administration up to 4.5 hours from stroke symptom onset, the benefits are much stronger when the medicine is administered within three hours from symptom onset. In fact, rtPA administration within three hours from symptom onset has shown to increase chances of functional independence at three months by one-third.”

Because time is of the essence, it is important for family members or friends to recognize the signs and symptoms and to call for help quickly.

ACMC doctors suggest using the acronym BE FAST to remember the signs of a stroke and what to do:

B - Balance

Sudden trouble with balance or coordination

E - Eyes

Sudden blurred or double vision or a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes

F - Face Drooping

One side of the face droops or becomes numb. Ask the person to smile.

A- Arm Weakness

Arm becomes weak or numb. Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm sag as if the person is holding something heavy?

S - Speech Difficulty

Difficulty speaking, slurred speech, or an inability to speak. Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.”

T - Time to call 9-1-1

If a person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and ask EMS to take your loved one to ACMC’s Primary Stroke Center.