FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2018
CONTACT:
Colleen Leonard Leyden; Director Corporate Marketing and Public Relations
Chester County Hospital
606 E. Marshall St., Suite 203
West Chester, PA 19380
610-431-5699
colleen.leyden@uphs.upenn.edu
West Chester, PA - Chester County 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.
Chester County 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.
"Our care teams take pride in their commitment to improving the quality of care for stroke patients in our community; this award is proof of that. My thanks goes out to the many different department members and providers who make a positive impact in these patient's lives," said Michael J. Duncan, President and CEO at Chester County Hospital
Chester County Hospital additionally 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 Chester County Hospital 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.
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About Chester County Hospital
Founded in 1892 as the county's first hospital, the non-profit has grown into a 248-bed acute-care inpatient facility in West Chester, PA. It also has outpatient services in Exton, PA; West Goshen, PA; New Garden, PA; West Grove, PA: Jennersville, PA and Kennett Square, PA. In 2013, Chester County Hospital became part of Penn Medicine, which is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to medical education, biomedical research, and excellent patient care. In addition to quality-driven medical and surgical services, Chester County Hospital also offers home health, inpatient hospice and skilled nursing care; occupational medicine; outpatient laboratory, radiology and physical therapy services; wound care; cardiopulmonary rehab; and a prenatal clinic for the under-served. In 2020, Chester County Hospital will complete the largest expansion in its history. The project will welcome a state-of-the-art procedural platform with 15 operating room suites, a 99-bed patient tower, a new main entrance and an expanded and renovated Emergency Department.
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 www.heart.org.
More About Stroke Treatment at Chester County Hospital