Adventist Health Glendale (AHGL) has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 2019 Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award as well as qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll. This award recognizes AHGL’s commitment and success in implementing a high standard of stroke care by ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment that meets nationally accepted, evidence-based standards and recommendation based on the latest scientific evidence.

“We’re honored to achieve this award. This recognition is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety,” said Alice Issai, president of Adventist Health Glendale. “Our team of physicians and clinical and stroke specialists is dedicated to ensuring that the amount of time that passes between stroke and treatment is minimal. I’m proud of our team of passionate people who are truly amazing.”

AHGL earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. For the Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll recognition, the hospital had to achieve door-to-needle times (arrival to treatment) within 60 minutes for at least 85% of the time for applicable patients.

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. 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.

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. An ischemic stroke occurs when an obstruction within a blood vessel blocks the blood supply to the brain. Ischemic strokes account for 87% of all stroke cases.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading 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.

For more information, call (818) 409-8100 or visit https://www.AdventistHealth.org/Glendale.