MRHC recognized for stroke treatment

Not good enough. No mention of 100% recovery results, so trying to rebrand failure as success. Doesn't even rate a participation trophy.

 

MRHC recognized for stroke treatment 

Stroke patients have the opportunity to be treated at a nationally-recognized facility in McAlester.
McAlester Regional Health Center was recognized by the American Heart Association for achieving the 2019 Get With Guideline Stroke Gold and the organization’s Stroke Elite Honor Roll for maintaining compliance for two years.
“It means our hospital is an oasis here in southeastern Oklahoma and we provide the same level of care, if not better in some ways, than large hospitals in Tulsa and Oklahoma City,” said MRHC Emergency Department Medical Director Karen Siren.
“It’s a reflection of the dedication and the work of all the team in the hospital and what we’ve done to get to this level,” said Dr. Pedro Cardich, a Southeast Clinic neurologist and medical director for McAlester in-patient rehab facility.
Tammy Barnette, stroke coordinator at MRHC, said the facility sees about 30 code-strokes per month with about 40% of those diagnosed as some kind of stroke.
Siren added that the team constantly evaluates its performance.
“We look at those quality metrics and if we see there’s a place for room for improvement, we talk about it in our monthly meetings with the whole team to see how we can make it better,” Siren said.
Siren also credited a partnership with the Regional Brain Institute and Dr. Anna Wanahita, who started the comprehensive stroke program at St. John’s Medical Center, to MRHC’s achievement.
The partnership utilizes TeleStroke, a web-based approach to treating stroke victims that staff said has been successful at MRHC. Wanahita said it allows the facility to offer 24/7 coverage and gives stroke patients direct access to a stroke specialist within minutes.
“You lose 1.9 million neurons per minute when your brain doesn’t get enough blood flow so if you’re late five minutes, 10 minutes on evaluating a stroke patient, that can mean a lot,” Wanahita said. “That can mean they cannot walk or talk for the rest of their life.”
Get With The Guidelines is a program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to the latest scientific treatment guidelines, according to the American Heart Association.
Achievement measures for the program include IV rt-PA arrive by second hour and treatment by third hour; early antithrombotics; VTE prophylaxis; antithrombotics; anticoag for AFib/Aflutter; smoking cessation; and statin prescribed at discharge.
Siren said the evaluations look at everything from how quickly a clot-busting medicine is used; to how fast treatment is recognized, identified and implemented; to how often patients’ vital signs are checked and documented; and more.
“It’s a total team-based evaluation of the treatment plan,” said Siren, who added the facility aims for treating a patient within 45 minutes.
“It’s a very complicated process, very rigorous,” Cardich said. “You have to follow everything based on time.”
The program recognizes facilities for meeting requirement over various lengths of time:
• Bronze: performance of 90 consecutive days.
• Silver: performance of 12 consecutive months.
• Gold: performance of 24 consecutive months or more.
MRHC received the silver recognition last year, when it was also listed among the top 10 hospitals in Oklahoma by U.S. News and World Report.
Siren thanked MRHC administrators for their support.
Contact Adrian O’Hanlon III at aohanlon@mcalesternews.com

Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital is ‘Acute Stroke Ready’

Not good enough. No mention of 100% recovery, so trying to rebrand failure as success. 

Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital is ‘Acute Stroke Ready’

JERSEY SHORE — Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital has been designated an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital by The Joint Commission.
This designation recognizes the quality of care provided to stroke patients at Geisinger Jersey Shore and its adherence to the highest standards of stroke care, including rapid response and diagnosis and application of appropriate medication.
Telestroke technology at Geisinger Jersey Shore allows emergency department physicians to immediately connect with neurologists at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, a Comprehensive Stroke Center.
An advanced live-stream camera provides two-way communication between Jersey Shore and Danville, allowing patients to be treated at Geisinger Jersey Shore if their condition doesn’t require surgery.
If more advanced treatment is needed, patients can be transported by Geisinger Life Flight to Geisinger Medical Center in less than 20 minutes, providing the timely care that is crucial to stroke recovery and rehabilitation.
“Having Geisinger Jersey Shore designated an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital recognizes that patients in Lycoming County have access to lifesaving stroke care close to home,” said Tammy Anderer, PhD, CRNP, chief administrative officer, Geisinger Jersey Shore. “With the support of our neurology team at Geisinger Medical Center, we are able to provide immediate care for patients at Geisinger Jersey Shore and provide timely transfer to our Comprehensive Stroke Center in Danville when more advanced care is needed.”
“This designation is the result of outstanding teamwork between the providers and staff at Geisinger Jersey Shore and the stroke care team at Geisinger Medical Center,” said Chris Cummings, M.D., stroke director for Geisinger’s central region. “Our entire stroke care team is dedicated to providing high-quality stroke care for all of our patients in the communities we serve.”
In the United States, on average, a stroke is suffered once every 40 seconds. Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in adults, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For every minute that a stroke is left untreated, up to 2 million brain cells die, so seeking immediate medical attention is critical to a successful recovery.