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TheStroke Center at Sinai, part of the LifeBridge Health
Brain & Spine Institute, recently received the American Stroke
Association�s Get With The Guidelines�Stroke (GWTG�Stroke) Annual
Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Sinai
Hospital of Baltimore�s commitment and success in implementing a higher
standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment
according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Sinai Hospital
is one of only three hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic to earn this achievement.
"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The
Guidelines�Stroke Annual Achievement Award addresses the important element of
time," said Adrian Goldszmidt, chief of Neurology, director of the Stroke Center
at Sinai and director of the Headache Program in the LifeBridge Health Brain
& Spine Institute.
Sinai Hospital has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and
treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes
always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists
available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when
appropriate.
To receive the award, Sinai Hospital consistently complied for 90-days with
the requirements in the GWTG�Stroke program. These include aggressive use
of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT
prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking
cessation. This twelve consecutive month evaluation period is the second in an
ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent
compliance level needed to sustain this award.
"The American Stroke Association commends the Stroke Center at Sinai for its
success in implementing standards of care and protocols," said Lee H. Schwamm,
M.D., national Get With the GuidelinesSM Steering Committee Member
and director of 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."
Get With The Guidelines�Stroke uses the "teachable moment," the time soon
after a patient has had an acute event, when they are most likely to listen to
and follow their healthcare 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
GWTG�Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at
the point of discharge, based on patients� individual risk profiles. The
take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are
available in English and Spanish. In addition, the Patient Management Tool
provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of
care.
"The time is right for Sinai Hospital to be focused on improving the quality
of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines�Stroke. 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," said Neil Meltzer, president of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.
According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 700,000
people suffer a stroke � 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent. Of
stroke survivors, 22 percent of men and 25 percent of women die within a year,
and for those aged 65 and older, the percentage is even higher. In 2001, $3.7
billion was paid to Medicare beneficiaries discharged from short-stay hospitals
for stroke. Americans are estimated to pay about $57.9 billion in 2006 for
stroke-related medical costs and disability.
The Stoke Center at Sinai is part of the LifeBridge Health Brain & Spine
Institute, a one-of-its-kind consortium of specialists from Sinai Hospital and
Northwest Hospital Center in neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, physical
medicine and rehabilitation, and other subspecialties. The Institute offers a
full range of services for brain, spine and peripheral nervous system diseases
including sophisticated diagnostic techniques, state-of-the-art surgical
modalities and comprehensive rehabilitation programs.
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore is a member of LifeBridge
Health, a regional health organization, which also includes Northwest Hospital Center, Levindale Hebrew
Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish
Convalescent & Nursing Home, and related subsidiaries and
affiliates.
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The American Stroke Association offers a wide array of programs, products and
services, from patient education materials to scientific statements with
cutting-edge information for healthcare professionals. The organization, a
division of the American Heart Association, is a committed leader in providing
credible stroke information to individuals and healthcare providers. For more
information about the American Stroke Association or its initiatives, visit
StrokeAssociation.org or call 1-888-4-STROKE. For more
information about Get With The Guidelines, e-mail: guidelinesinfo@heart.org or visit: www.strokeassociation.org/getwiththeguidelines.
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