Penn Highlands Mon Valley Earns National Recognition for High-Quality Stroke Care
Penn Highlands Mon Valley has earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines® -- Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Achievement Award. The award was presented to the hospital for “proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.”
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
“We accomplished this recognition through a team effort,” said Joe Muntan, BSN, RN, PHRN, Stroke Care and EMS Coordinator at Penn Highlands Mon Valley. “Our multidisciplinary approach to treatment ensures that stroke patients receive the very best care. Everyone has earned this award regardless of their role – it is shared by all.”
Each year, program participants qualify for the Get With the Guidelines® -- Stroke Gold Plus award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home. Penn Highlands Mon Valley also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy. In addition, the hospital earned the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Penn Highlands Mon Valley for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, MD, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 14 million patients since 2001.