Bronx, NY ― Lincoln Medical Center has received two significant recognitions from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) for the successful implementation of higher standards of stroke care, aimed at reducing death and disability, and improving the lives of stroke patients. Presented to the hospital for the third consecutive year, the Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award is an advanced level of recognition that acknowledges hospitals for their compliance with the Get With The Guidelines® nationally accepted standards and quality measures.

In addition, Lincoln Medical Center is included, for the third time, in the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s “Honor Roll” for timely administration of clot-busting (thrombolytic) therapy within 60 minutes of a patient’s arrival to the hospital. A thrombolytic, or clot busting agent, when administered in a timely manner is the best available treatment for ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, it has been shown to significantly reverse the effects of stroke and reduce permanent disability.

“As a New York State designated Stroke Center, Lincoln Medical Center continues to achieve a high level of quality performance, implementing life-prolonging treatments, and ensuring that the care we provide to stroke patients is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines.” said Dr. Melissa P. Schori, Lincoln’s Chief Medical Officer. “We are very proud that Lincoln Medical Center once again receives this important Gold Plus status and is included in AHA/ASA Honor Roll.”

“Our medical staff is to be commended for its commitment to the implementation of highest standards of care and evidence-based protocols for treating stroke patients,” said Milton Nuñez, Lincoln Medical Center’s Executive Director. “Having a state-of-the-art Stroke Center is critical to saving lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients entrusted to our care.”

“The fact that our work has been consistently recognized over the past few years is a testament to organizational leadership and the commitment of our multidisciplinary stroke team,” said Raghu Loganathan, MD, FCCP, Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Stroke Center. “Our team is focusing not only on providing the highest quality of care that is standardized and evidence based but we are also addressing prevention and health education of patients and their families.”

The AHA/ASA Get With the Guidelines® protocol uses the “teachable moment” – the time soon after a patient has had a stroke and is most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance – to teach patients how to manage their risk factors. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital are able to reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

The Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award is the highest level of recognition that allows hospitals to be acknowledged for their compliance with the AHA/ASA quality measures and sustained adherence to specific evidence-based guidelines over a period of two consecutive years.

According to the American Heart Association, the number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population. Other statistics indicate that stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.