American Heart Association recognizes Saint Francis’ commitment to quality stroke care

Memphis, TENN., July 11, 2019 ― Saint Francis Healthcare today announced it received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Awards. Both Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett and Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis earned Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus. These awards recognize the commitment of the hospitals to help ensure stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

The hospitals 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 Healthcare is dedicated to enhancing the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative, and we are proud to be recognized for our exemplary efforts at both hospitals,” said Dr. Audrey Gregory, Market CEO of Saint Francis Healthcare. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett additionally received the Association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award and Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis received the Association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite award. 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.

“We are pleased to recognize Saint Francis Healthcare 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 and key contributor in developing and implementing Get With The Guidelines. “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 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.