For the fifjth consecutive year, Floyd Medical Center has been honored by the American Heart Association for its effort in treating stroke patients.

The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award recognizes the hospital's success and commitment in ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-driven guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight quality measures.

​​Floyd also received the Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll designation for the fifth year in a row. To qualify, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between a patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

"This award shows that we, as a primary stroke system, are providing the highest level of care for stroke patients by using specific care protocols set by the American Heart Association," said Debbie Fisher, Stroke Program Coordinator at Floyd.