Raleigh General Hospital receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

American Heart Association Award recognizes Raleigh General Hospital’s commitment to quality stroke care

Beckley, W.Va. (August 5, 2020) ― Raleigh General Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

 Raleigh General Hospital earned the award 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

“Raleigh General Hospital is 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 Amy Helton, RN, Stroke Coordinator/Quality Assistant. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Raleigh General Hospital additionally received the Association’s Target: Type 2 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.”

Raleigh General Hospital has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center or as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

 “We are pleased to recognize Raleigh General Hospital 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.

About Raleigh General Hospital

A part of LifePoint Health®, Raleigh General Hospital, southern West Virginia’s leading medical center, has served the city of Beckley and surrounding counties since 1921. The acute care hospital offers a full range of services including trauma, obstetrics, advanced imaging, lithotripsy, interventional cardiac care, oncology, emergency, gastroenterology, and advanced wound care and hyperbaric medicine services. Additionally, we offer the following surgical services: general, orthopedic, vascular, spine, gynecology, ENT and podiatry. Each year, the hospital admits over 10,000 patients, delivers about 1,100 babies and treats nearly 50,000 people in its emergency department. Approximately 3,500 inpatient surgeries, 8,000 outpatient surgeries and 4,500 endoscopies are performed annually. To learn more about Raleigh General Hospital, visit http://www.raleighgeneral.com.

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.