The American Stroke Association recently awarded Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola its Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award for their commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

Sacred Heart’s Regional Stroke Center has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the hospital’s emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

To receive the award, Sacred Heart achieved of 85 percent or higher adherence to quality standards for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care. 

These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“The American Stroke Association commends Sacred Heart Hospital for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national Stroke Steering Committee Member and director of the acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of standards is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 700,000 people suffer a stroke — 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent. Of stroke survivors aged 49 and older, 21 percent of men and 24 percent of women die within a year.  For those aged 65 and older, the percentages are even higher.

For more information on Sacred Heart’s Regional Stroke Center, please call (850) 416-1600 or visit www.sacred-heart.org.

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Save your Brain. Save your world.

If you or a loved one have symptoms of a stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately and ask to be taken to the nearest certified primary stroke center.

Warning Signs of Stroke
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

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