ECHN’s Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals Both Received Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award
American Heart Association Award recognizes ECHN’s commitment to quality stroke care
MANCHESTER/Vernon, CT – June 15, 2017 ― Eastern Connecticut Health Network’s Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital have both received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award. This award recognizes our hospitals’ commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
To receive the Gold Quality Achievement Award, each of our hospitals achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods.
These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.
“A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely,” said Michael Collins, interim CEO at ECHN. “ECHN continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team’s hard work.”
“The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize ECHN for its commitment to stroke care,” said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. “Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program.”
Get With The Guidelines®-S puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospital care teams ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal to save lives and improve recovery time, Get With The Guidelines®-S has impacted more than 3 million patients since 2003.
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Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN):
ECHN is a community healthcare system serving 19 towns in eastern Connecticut. Its network of affiliates includes Manchester Memorial Hospital, Rockville General Hospital, Woodlake at Tolland Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Eastern Connecticut Medical Professionals, Women’s Center for Wellness, Visiting Nurse & Health Services of CT, Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute, and more. Visit our website at www.echn.org for more detailed information about the health system.
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 tools and resources to increase adherence to 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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
