Nash UNC receives stroke care awards
By Amelia Harper
Staff Writer, Rocky Mount Telegram
In addition to recent awards for heart care, Nash UNC Health Care also has earned recognition from the American Heart Association for its care of stroke patients.
The American Heart Association recently honored the hospital with the Getting With the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement and Target: Stroke Honor Roll awards.
Speed and efficiency in care are important in the case of a stroke. According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the United States suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year, according to a press release from the hospital.
“I cannot stress enough how important time is in the event of a stroke,” Mary K. Baker, stroke program coordinator at Nash UNC Health Care, said in the release. “Our team works hard to implement the standards of care proven to be most effective in treating stroke.”
Receiving the Getting With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Achievement Awards recognizes that Nash UNC is ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence, the release said.
The award was earned by meeting specific quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and treatments with a focus on speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients, the release said.
Along with the four awards from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for heart and stroke care, Nash UNC Health Care also received the Chest Pain Center Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Accreditation in September 2018, the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval, the AHA/ASA’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers in January 2019 and the American College of Cardiology’s Chest Pain-Myocardial Infarction Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award in July 2019.
“We have been heavily focused on improving quality of care at Nash UNC Health Care. Starting with Bronze Quality Achievement and earning Gold Plus Quality Achievement — the highest award given by the Getting With The Guidelines program — in just a few years is a remarkable feat and speaks volumes to the dedication of our staff and physicians to improve processes for overall care” said L. Lee Isley, president and CEO of Nash UNC Health Care.
For more information on heart and stroke care at Nash UNC Health Care, visit www.nashunchealthcare.org.
