Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham Honored With Esteemed National Stroke Award for Excellence
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham Honored With Esteemed National Stroke Award for Excellence
Needham, MA–For the fourth year in a row Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham (BID-Needham) has received the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.
Get With The Guidelines- Stroke helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of rapid identification of acute strokes resulting in prompt treatment which reduces death and disability for patients. Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for 24 months. These measures include aggressive use of medications and risk-reduction therapies aimed at improving patient recovery.
“We’re very proud. With this award, our hospital demonstrates our commitment to ensure that our patients receive care based on internationally-respected clinical guidelines.” said President and CEO John Fogarty. “Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care and The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Stroke helps us achieve that goal.”
Get With The Guidelines–Stroke also helps BID-Needham’s staff implement prevention measures, which include educating stroke patients to manage their risk factors and to be aware of warning signs for stroke, and ensuring they take their medications properly.
“We are pleased to recognize Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham for its commitment and dedication to stroke care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce patients’ length of stays and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparity gaps in care.”
Stroke: Among Leading Causes of Death
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number four cause of death and a leading cause of adult 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.
Signs of Stroke
Knowing the key signs and symptoms of stroke and calling 9-1-1 immediately can save a life. The F.A.S.T. acronym is an easy way to remember:
Face: Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile
Arm: Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms
Speech: Does the speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a phrase
Time:If you observe these symptoms, call 9-1-1
Find out more about FAST and the DPH stroke awareness campaign.
About Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham (BID-Needham) is a licensed 58-bed acute care community hospital affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston. The direct affiliation with BIDMC, since 2000, has facilitated the clinical integration of staff and resources in emergency medicine, hospital medicine (hospitalists), cardiology, radiology, orthopedics, general surgery, pathology and oncology. This fall BIDMC and BID-Needham opened the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center and Surgical Pavilion at BID-Needham providing more accessible, patient-centered cancer care and advanced surgical services to the community. BID-Needham has served residents in Needham, Newton, Dedham, Dover, Medfield, Wellesley, Westwood and other surrounding communities for more than 100 years. For more information, please visit bidneedham.org, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 4 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/qualityor heart.org/myhealthcare.