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NewsNews

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2015 

HHC Kings County Hospital Center Receives National Recognition for Excellence in Stroke Care

Awards from American Heart Association/American Stroke Association demonstrate commitment to quality care for stroke patients

(Brooklyn, New York) Ernest Baptiste, Executive Director of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC), announced today the hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s "Get With The Guidelines"® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. This is the fourth consecutive year the hospital has been recognized for its success in ensuring stroke patients receive the highest quality care according to nationally recognized guidelines.

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"I commend our highly skilled medical team for the extraordinary work they do daily to ensure that the care provided to stroke patients is of the highest quality, meeting established guidelines and protocols," said Mr. Baptiste. "Our community deserves no less and we are proud to have a state-of-the-art stroke center that renders life-saving treatment for our patients and community at large."

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all seven Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive years, and must achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.

These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based care with the goal of improving recovery, as well as reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Guidelines include aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, and blood thinners. In addition, the guidelines promote prompt and effective use of cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and smoking cessation counseling. Stroke centers proactively manage other stroke risks such as hypertension and diabetes.

"We collaborate closely with our Emergency Department nurses to facilitate improved work flow when patients present with acute stroke," said Dr. Susan Law, Director of KCHC Stroke Services. "Early recognition of the warning signs of a stroke is key to prompt diagnosis and treatment. Our goal is provide treatment effectively and as quickly as possible upon arrival in the emergency room."

"As a major safety net hospital for Brooklyn, a Level 1 Trauma Center and a designated Stroke Center, we are committed to continuous improvement in the early diagnosis of stroke patients so that we can help them achieve the best possible outcomes," said Ghassan Jamaleddine, MD, Chief Medical Officer, KCHC. "The AHA stroke guidelines are an important tool in this process."

"This award demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring that patients receive care based on nationally-respected clinical guidelines," said Helen Valsamis, MD, Chief of Neurology at KCHC. "Kings County Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care for our patients through community outreach and the development of a robust stroke research program."

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, in 2014 stroke dropped from the third leading cause of death to fifth, due to the use of guidelines to improve stroke care.

 

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