Get With The Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus

American Heart Association Award recognizes Garnet Health Medical Center’s commitment to quality stroke care

Garnet Health Medical Center, formerly Orange Regional Medical Center, has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite 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 from the latest scientific evidence.

Garnet Health Medical Center 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 death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“Garnet Health is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Kavneet Kaur, MD, Medical Director of Neurology Services at Garnet Health Doctors and Medical Director of the Stroke Program at Garnet Health. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

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, Garnet Health Medical Center 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.