Holyoke Medical Center Recognized for Stroke Care

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center has once again received the Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality-improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Assoc. and American Stroke Assoc. for stroke treatment.

Get with the Guidelines helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, researched-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Holyoke Medical Center has 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.

“Holyoke Medical Center is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care, and by sustaining this award year after year, our hospital demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that our patients receive the highest quality of care utilizing internationally respected clinical guidelines,” said HMC Stroke Coordinator Angela Smith.

Holyoke Medical Center additionally received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with clot-buster tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. People who suffer a stroke and receive the drug within three hours of the onset of symptoms may recover more quickly and are less likely to suffer severe disability.

For additional information on the Holyoke Medical Center Stroke Service, contact Smith at (413) 534-2794.