For 11th Consecutive Year, UAMS Recognized for Providing High-Quality Stroke Care
| LITTLE ROCK — The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association have again recognized the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care.
UAMS has received the AHA Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability. This is the 11th consecutive year that UAMS has received the award.
The AHA also recognized UAMS with two awards above and beyond the achievement award — the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.
The Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll Elite Plus award signifies that at UAMS, at least 75% of applicable patients received clot-busting medications within 45 minutes of arrival, and at least 50% of those patients received the medication within 30 minutes of arrival. Timely administration of the medication reduces the effects of a stroke and the chance of a permanent disability.
The Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award signifies that UAMS patients with Type 2 diabetes receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized with cardiovascular disease or stroke.
The Get With The Guidelines program puts the expertise of the AHA to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure that patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize UAMS for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “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.”
“The Get With the Guidelines program helps us apply proven knowledge and care, allowing us to save more lives and reduce disability caused by strokes,” said Paige Womack, BSN, RN, director of the UAMS stroke program. “This repeated recognition shows that we are committed to best practices and life-saving stroke care.”
The recently announced awards pertain to treatment provided throughout 2023.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
In 2018, UAMS became the first health provider in Arkansas to be certified as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Earlier this year, UAMS was recertified by DNV Healthcare USA Inc., a world-leading certification body that is committed to helping health care organizations improve patient and staff safety in sustainable ways.
UAMS offers 24/7 access to stroke experts, ensuring rapid treatment with clot-busting medication, performing interventional neuroradiology and advanced neurosurgical procedures, and delivering post-procedural care guided by best practices to enhance patient outcomes.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 902 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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