St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) has been honored by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for its exceptional work in stroke care by earning several Get with The Guidelines (GWTG) awards.
GWTG awards recognize the St. Luke’s network’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally-recognized guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
An aerial view of the St. Luke’s Hospital-Bethlehem campus, wihch is part of St. Luke’s University Health Network. (FILE PHOTO)
St. Luke’s hospitals honored with a Get with the Guidelines award are:
St. Luke’s University Hospital-Bethlehem
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite & Advanced Therapy and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Anderson Campus
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus/St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Monroe Campus
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Warren Campus
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus
Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Allentown Campus
Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Miners Campus
Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Stroke and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
St. Luke’s Lehighton Campus
Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
“These awards are not just nice honors, they are a recognition of how each individual hospital performs for its community,” said Daniel Ackerman, MD, vice chair, Department of Neurology, medical director of Stroke and Vascular Neurology, St. Luke’s University Health Network.
“As a network, we are committed at each of our facilities to provide the best in stroke care to every patient, every time, and it shows,” added Jonathan Hosey, MD, chairman of Neurosciences, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “The network is specifically designed so that each patient encounter for stroke is met with the same level of expertise, from our largest and busiest hospitals to our smallest local community center.”
St. Luke’s earned the awards 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.
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.
“We know that stroke is a team sport, and as with any complicated process, it really takes buy-in from everyone involved,” explained Dr. Ackerman. “Stroke care does not start at the hospital; it really starts at home when families or friends recognize symptoms, so we take every opportunity to provide community education. At the level of our hospitals, everyone is involved.”
“From the emergency department providers, to the nursing staff, our radiology technologists and physicians, and our amazing registrars… all of them are an integral part of providing the kind of rapid and coordinated effort that has earned us top honors as a stroke team,” added Dr. Hosey. “We have also taken the wonderful opportunity to partner with our local EMS corps. The EMS and first responders in our region are often the first medical personnel who see a patient and can identify that they are having a stroke.”
For more information about St. Luke’s award-winning stroke care, visit sluhn.org/stroke or call 1-866-STLUKES.
Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
