Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center has just received the Silver Plus Performance Award by the American Stroke Association (ASA)/American Heart Association (AHA).  The ASA/AHA’s “Get With the Guidelines®” (GWTG) awards are based on a medical center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally-accepted standards and recommendations.

Receiving this Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award means that Saint Elizabeth has consistently followed the stringent quality treatment guidelines in the GWTG–Stroke program for at least 12 consecutive months. These guidelines were established combining the unparalleled expertise of the ASA and AHA’s evidence-based practices. These include aggressive use of medications, therapies, and treatments aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients. The “Plus” added to the Silver award means Saint Elizabeth has additionally met a number of elite level stroke standards for their patients.

"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the this Stroke Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award demonstrates that our stroke team is committed to providing care using evidence-based protocols to quickly and efficiently treat our stroke patients,” said Beth Malina, Saint Elizabeth stroke program coordinator, adding, “Our greatest reward in using these protocols is saving the lives and quality of lives for our patients.”

Dr. James Bobenhouse, stroke medical director for Lincoln accepts the Silver plus award along with Mary Trauernicht, director stroke care area, and Beth Malina, Saint Elizabeth stroke coordinator.

 The program focuses on the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their health care professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second stroke. Saint Elizabeth uses patient-friendly education materials that patients take with them when discharged as well as additional tools provided by ASA such as risk assessments and the latest scientific information.

“This ASA/AHA Silver Plus performance award demonstrates Saint Elizabeth medical center’s ongoing commitment to excellence in stroke care,” said Dr. James Bobenhouse, Stroke Medical Director for Lincoln hospitals. “Since ‘time is brain’, stroke center personnel are trained to provide rapid evaluation and treatment of stroke patients by using state of the art brain imaging and giving clot busting medication when appropriate”

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