Atrium Health Earns National Recognition for Top Stroke Treatment Across Southeast
Eleven facilities honored by American Heart Association for best practices and life-saving care
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 27, 2023 – Atrium Health has received the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke” Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award at 11 facilities across North Carolina and Georgia. The designation honors Atrium Health for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment, according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
Atrium Health stroke centers that earned the recognition include: Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health Pineville and Atrium Health University City, all in Charlotte; Atrium Health Cabarrus, in Concord; Atrium Health Cleveland, in Shelby; Atrium Health Kings Mountain, in Kings Mountain; Atrium Health Lincoln, in Lincolnton; Atrium Health Union, in Monroe; Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem; Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, in Rome, Georgia; and Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, in Macon, Georgia.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
“Get With The Guidelines – Stroke” provides health care professionals with the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.
“Atrium Health is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival and reduced disability after a stroke,” said Dr. Rahul Karamchandani, George Shinn endowed cerebrovascular chair and stroke medical director at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “We are committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and this award demonstrates that our multidisciplinary stroke teams put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis.”
Each year, program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Atrium Health for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Dr. Steven Messe, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association stroke system of care advisory group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in ‘Get With The Guidelines’ is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
Atrium Health also received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite award at Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union, Atrium Health University City and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus 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 a clot-busting drug to treat ischemic stroke.
Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Cabarrus also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award. For this award, hospitals successfully reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke. Those honored treat at least 50% of applicable patients within 90 minutes for direct arrival and within 60 minutes for transfers.
Additionally, Atrium Health received the association’s Target: Type 2 DiabetesSM Honor Roll award at Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, Atrium Health Kings Mountain, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union, Atrium Health University City and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 80% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “overall diabetes cardiovascular initiative composite score.” This level of recognition above and beyond the achievement awards recognizes a hospital’s targeted approach to providing quality care for patients with type 2 diabetes.
In addition to these accolades, Atrium Health Lincoln received the association’s newest award: Rural Stroke Bronze, which focuses on rural hospitals that work with varied patient care dynamics. This recognition showcases facilities that provide CT imaging in less than 25 minutes from patient arrival, less than 90 minutes from emergency department arrival to patient transfer and telestroke consultation, among other unique performance metrics.
“Get with the Guidelines,” “Target: Stroke” and “Target: Type 2 Diabetes” are registered service marks of the American Heart Association, Inc.
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