Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
NEW ORLEANS ― Six Ochsner Heath owned and affiliated hospitalshave received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
GWTG Stroke Award Gold Plus recipients:
The awards were earned 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 evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
“Ochsner Health and its Neuroscience Institute are dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Richard Zweifler, MD, vascular neurologist and Ochsner Health system chair of neurology. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Ochsner facilities also received additional recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. They include:
GWTG Stroke Award Silver Plus
GWTG Stroke Award Bronze/Silver
Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans additionally received the Association’s Target StrokeSM Elite Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. The hospital also meets specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center—one of only three in Louisiana—featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner and Slidell Memorial Hospital additionally received the Association’s Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
“We are pleased to recognize these Ochsner Health hospitals for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
The Ochsner Neuroscience Institute’s award-winning quality includes being ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the one of the nation’s top 50 neurology and neurosurgery specialties for nine straight years. It is also a recipient of the Healthgrades Neurosciences Excellence Award and named among the top five percent in the nation for Neurosciences. Additional accolades are: Top 100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Neurosurgery and Spine Programs by Becker’s Hospital Review and a past recipient of the Healthgrades Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award and named among the top five percent in the nation for cranial neurosurgery.
For more information about Ochsner’s award-winning neurology care, or to make an appointment, please visit www.ochsner.org/neurosciences.
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About Ochsner Health
Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Ochsner Health is a not-for-profit committed to giving back to the communities it serves through preventative screenings, health and wellness resources and partnerships with innovative organizations that share our vision. Ochsner Health healed more than 876,000 people from across the globe in 2019, providing the latest medical breakthroughs and therapies, including digital medicine for chronic conditions and telehealth specialty services. Ochsner Health is a national leader, named the top hospital in Louisiana and a top children’s hospital by U.S. News & World Report. As Louisiana’s leading healthcare educator, Ochsner Health and its partners educate thousands of healthcare professionals annually. Ochsner Health is innovating healthcare by investing in new technologies and research to make world-class care more accessible, affordable, convenient and effective. Ochsner's team of more than 26,000 employees and 4,500 providers are working to reinvent the future of health and wellness in the region. To learn more about Ochsner Health, please visit www.ochsner.org. To transform your health, please visit www.ochsner.org/healthyyou.
About Get With The Guidelines®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to 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 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.