Sacred Heart Medical Center Receives AHA Get With the Guidelines Stroke Award

American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Award recognizes commitment to quality stroke care

Spokane, Wash.—Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the ninth consecutive year. This designation is the highest level of achievement.

“As an accredited Level-I Stroke Center of Excellence, this award recognizes our coordinated stroke care, from prevention and diagnosis through treatment and rehabilitation,” said Ken Isaacs, M.D., regional medical director of Providence Spokane Neuroscience Institute. “Our team of highly-skilled neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuro-endovascular specialists, vascular surgeons and stroke-specialized ICU and neuro-advanced care nurses and therapists consistently deliver exceptional care for even the most complex cases.”

Sacred Heart Medical Center earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke 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. Before discharge, patients also receive education on managing their health and have a follow-up visit scheduled.

Additionally, the program received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award. Sacred Heart Medical Center qualified for this recognition because the hospital has consistently reduced the time between a stroke patient’s arrival and treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), resulting in the lowest “door to needle” time in the region and one of the lowest in the state of Washington. tPA is the only clot-busting drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved to treat ischemic stroke.

Patient Tim Byus received tPA when he came to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with stroke symptoms in October, 2017. He credits first responders and Sacred Heart’s quick actions for saving his life and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute for helping him get back to living life.

“We are pleased to recognize Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “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.

About Providence Spokane Neuroscience Institute

Providence Spokane Neuroscience Institute offers care across the neuroscience continuum of care including care in spine, stroke, epilepsy, deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, care for brain tumors, headaches, Multiple Sclerosis, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery, cardio stenting and more. The Institute has achieved advanced certifications in multiple clinical service areas, including comprehensive spine center certification, advanced primary stroke center certification with 24/7 thrombectomy services, and Level 3 epilepsy center certification. These advanced certifications demonstrate the Institute’s strong commitment to advancing clinical excellence.

About Get With The Guidelines®

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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

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