BMC ’Gets with the Guidelines’

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Medical Center has for the 8th straight year received the American Heart Assoc./American Stroke Assoc. Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes BMC’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

BMC was the first hospital in the U.S. to receive the Performance Achievement Award for stroke from the American Heart Assoc. In addition to the Stroke honor, BMC has achieved 10 consecutive awards for the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease and six consecutive awards for the treatment of heart failure.

To receive the award, BMC achieved 85{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} or higher adherence with all Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals, and achieved 75{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} or higher compliance with five of nine Get with the Guidelines – Stroke Quality Measures to improve the quality of patient care and outcomes. These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“For the past several years, our comprehensive Stroke Team, which starts in the BMC emergency department, continues in the stroke unit and through rehabilitation, has focused on continually improving the quality of stroke care through Get with the Guidelines. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” said Dr. Gray Ellrodt, chief quality officer for BMC and chairman of the Department of Medicine.