Eleven facilities honored by American Heart Association for best practices and life-saving care
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 31, 2023 – Atrium Health has received the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke” Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award at 11 facilities across North Carolina and Georgia. The designation honors Atrium Health for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment, according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
Atrium Health stroke centers that earned the recognition include: Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health Pineville and Atrium Health University City, all in Charlotte; Atrium Health Cabarrus, in Concord; Atrium Health Cleveland, in Shelby; Atrium Health Kings Mountain, in Kings Mountain; Atrium Health Lincoln, in Lincolnton; Atrium Health Union, in Monroe; Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem; Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, in Rome, Georgia; and Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, in Macon, Georgia.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
“Get With The Guidelines – Stroke” provides health care professionals with the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.
“Atrium Health is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival and reduced disability after a stroke,” said Dr. Rahul Karamchandani, George Shinn endowed cerebrovascular chair and stroke medical director at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
“We are committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and this award demonstrates that our multidisciplinary stroke teams put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis.”
Each year, program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Atrium Health for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Dr. Steven Messe, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association stroke system of care advisory group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Participation in ‘Get With The Guidelines’ is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
Atrium Health also received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite award at Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union, Atrium Health University City and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus award.
To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with a clot-busting drug to treat ischemic stroke.
Carolinas Medical Center and Atrium Health Cabarrus also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award. For this award, hospitals successfully reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke. Those honored treat at least 50% of applicable patients within 90 minutes for direct arrival and within 60 minutes for transfers.
Additionally, Atrium Health received the association’s Target: Type 2 DiabetesSM Honor Roll award at Carolinas Medical Center, Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, Atrium Health Kings Mountain, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center, Atrium Health Pineville, Atrium Health Union, Atrium Health University City and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 80% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “overall diabetes cardiovascular initiative composite score.”
This level of recognition above and beyond the achievement awards recognizes a hospital’s targeted approach to providing quality care for patients with type 2 diabetes.
In addition to these accolades, Atrium Health Lincoln received the association’s newest award: Rural Stroke Bronze, which focuses on rural hospitals that work with varied patient care dynamics. This recognition showcases facilities that provide CT imaging in less than 25 minutes from patient arrival, less than 90 minutes from emergency department arrival to patient transfer and telestroke consultation, among other unique performance metrics.
“Get with the Guidelines,” “Target: Stroke” and “Target: Type 2 Diabetes” are registered service marks of the American Heart Association, Inc.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.46 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.