LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC) recently received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award. This distinction recognizes LAMC’s commitment to providing a higher standard of stroke care to patients, according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations, for over a 24 month period.
“This achievement is a tribute to the effectiveness of our best medical practices and our Stroke Team’s efforts to deliver high-quality, service oriented care. It’s a clear indication that we are setting the standard for stroke care,” said Dr. Donald Marcus, LAMC Area Medical Director. LAMC 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 medications when appropriate.
To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award, LAMC demonstrated 85% adherence in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke key measures for 24 or more consecutive months. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation.
“The American Stroke Association commends LAMC for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., chair of the Get With The Guidelines National Steering Committee and director of the TeleStroke and 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.”
Get With The Guidelines-Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare 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 heart attack or stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines-Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.
“It is our vision that LAMC will stand out as a leader in the medical community and as a world-class provider of stroke care. Our team has identified stroke risk factors that are helping patients and caregivers quickly recognize stroke symptoms, getting stroke patients the care they need faster. It is our belief that ongoing education about stroke and other health conditions will have similar, beneficial outcomes,” said LAMC Executive Director Mark Costa.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term 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.
ABOUT KAISER PERMANENTE LOS ANGELES MEDICAL CENTER
The Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC) is Kaiser Permanente’s tertiary center of excellence in Southern California. LAMC offers a wide range of specialty care services, featuring 24 Centers of Excellence, including complex neurosurgery, pediatrics, comprehensive cancer care, and is the largest cardiac surgery program in the western United States. LAMC is also a medical learning institution where highly trained doctors mentor and teach new generations of physicians and caregivers. LAMC currently hosts approximately 300 active medical research projects across a range of disciplines. More than 750,000 patients visit LAMC a year. For more information, visit www.kp.org/losangeles.
ABOUT KAISER PERMANENTE
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 3.4 million members in Southern California. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
CONTACT:
Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Region
Los Angeles Medical Center
Faviola Ochoa Miranda, 323-783-3606
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