American Heart Association Award recognizes Catskill Regional’s commitment
to quality stroke care
Harris, NY – Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) has received the 2019 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Catskill Regional earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing the risk of death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients received education on managing their health, and scheduled a follow up visit.
“Catskill Regional has improved the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Catskill Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Schiller. “The tools and resources provided through this initiative allow us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines.”
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. Someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. To better prepare people to respond to stroke in a timely manner and with appropriate action, CRMC supports using the FAST acronym to help educate the public on the signs and symptoms of stroke:
F = Face Drooping
A = Arm Weakness
S = Speech Difficulty
T = Time to call 911
The acronym can help people remember and recognize the general signs and symptoms of stroke, including weakness or numbness on one side, facial drooping, slurred or irregular, or difficulty speaking, vision loss and severe headache or dizziness. The sooner symptoms are recognized, the earlier medical help can be sought.
Quicker response time at the onset of stroke can lead to faster treatment, which results in better chances of survival and decreased physical and neurological disabilities. Highly effective treatments that can be administered early from the onset of stroke, include administering the clot dissolving medication alteplase within three to four and one half hours, or a procedure known as a thrombectomy, which can be performed within six to 24 hours.
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.
About Catskill Regional Medical Center
Catskill Regional Medical Center is dedicated to providing quality health care to residents of Sullivan County and neighboring communities at its 218-bed main hospital campus in Harris and at the 15-bed Grover M. Hermann Hospital in Callicoon. An academic affiliate of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Catskill Regional Medical Center retains compassionate professionals who continually strive toward the hospital’s mission to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional health care. Catskill Regional Medical Center is a member of the Greater Hudson Valley Health System (GHVHS), which is recognized by Ethisphere as one of the 2018 and 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies. To learn more about CRMC, visit www.crmcny.org.
