Published on July 20, 2010

Genesis Stroke Program Recognized By American Stroke Association

The Genesis Stroke Program has received a Silver Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in recognition of the Genesis success in implementing the Get With the Guidelines program.

The award recognizes the Genesis commitment to providing a high standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

Genesis and other hospitals will be featured in a special advertisement

in the "America's Best Hospitals" issue of the US News & World Report (August issue) to commemorate their receipt of Get With The Guidelines Performance Achievement Awards.

"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost and this recognition addresses the important element of time, treatment, and prevention of stroke,'' said Angela Overton, MSN, stroke coordinator for Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. "This recognition is not only important for the program, but for our patients as well.

"Our relationship with the Get With the Guidelines initiative has helped us standardize our care while adapting the best practices. Our participation allows us to benchmark our performance with other high quality programs."

Genesis has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting drugs when appropriate.

To receive the Silver Performance Achievement Award, Genesis achieved 85 percent compliance with the standards for 12 consecutive months.

"The time is right for Genesis to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines,'' Overton added. "The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to increase over the next decade because of increasing incidence of stroke and a large, aging population.''

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