Noble Hospital Gets with the Guidelines on Stroke Care

WESTFIELD — Noble Hospital has received the 2011 American Heart Assoc./American Stroke Assoc. Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Noble Hospital’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

To receive the award, Noble Hospital achieved 85{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} or higher adherence to all Get with the Guidelines (GWTG) Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} or higher compliance with six of 10 GWTG quality measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

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.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award demonstrates Noble Hospital’s commitment to being one of the top hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said Diane Brunelle, vice president of Patient Care Services. “We will continue with our focus on providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols.”

Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every three minutes, and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

“Noble Hospital is to be commended for its commitment to implementing standards of care and protocols for treating stroke patients,” said Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, chair of the Get with the Guidelines National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

GWTG uses the ‘teachable moment,’ the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their health care professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

Through Get with the Guidelines, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The takeaway materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the GWTG Patient Management Tool gives health care providers access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

“The time is right for Noble Hospital to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get with the Guidelines,” Brunelle said. “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.”