UVA’s stroke program has been honored with two national quality and safety awards from the American Heart Association (AHA).
UVA received the 2015 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold-Plus Achievement Award and made the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite. The awards confirm that stroke patients at UVA receive care that meets the latest care guidelines from the AHA and American Stroke Association.
“It’s always great to be recognized for all the work we put into quality care,” says Heather Turner, coordinator of UVA’s stroke program. “Every caregiver on the UVA stroke team consistently focuses on maintaining the highest patient safety standards and improving outcomes.”
Quality Levels Above National Averages
UVA received the 2015 Gold-Plus Achievement Award for reaching 85 percent or higher compliance with all Get With The Guidelines stroke achievement measures and 75 percent or higher compliance with five or more Get With the Guidelines stroke quality measures for two or more consecutive years.
UVA exceeded compliance levels on measured categories including:
- Time from arrival at hospital to Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy (clot-busting drug treatment) of 60 minutes or less
- Percent of stroke patients who arrive at UVA within 210 minutes of stroke who are treated within 270 minutes with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)
- Screening patients for dysphagia (trouble swallowing)
- Stroke education
- Assessing patients for rehabilitation services
- Documentation of a patient’s LDL cholesterol