Receives Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett 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.

Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett 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.

“Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett is focused on providing high quality stroke care to our patients,” said Chris Locke, Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett chief executive officer. “Stroke is a serious problem in Tennessee, as we are part of the Stroke Belt, where the risk of stroke is 34% percent higher than it is in other areas of the country. The tools and resources provided by the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative helps us to track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death 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. Approximately 130,000 people per year in the United States are killed as a result of stroke.