Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center Recognized for Outstanding Stroke Care
The Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center was once again recognized for outstanding stroke care by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For the fourth consecutive year, the medical center received the Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement and the Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Plus awards, the highest level of recognition awarded. This recognition reflects Kaiser Permanente’s sustained commitment to excellence.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition which reflects the exceptional and consistent care given to our stroke patients,” says Jonathan Artz, MD, medical director of the KP SRF Stroke Program. “Rapid, safe and successful stroke care in the hospital and emergency department settings absolutely rely upon the fluid and collaborative interactions amongst and between nurses, physicians, CT technicians, lab personnel and the inpatient pharmacy staff and our Quality focused Stroke Nurse Coordinator – Allison Uppendahl.”
The Get with the Guidelines Stroke program was developed as a national stroke registry and performance improvement program with the primary goal of improving the quality of care and outcomes for stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Each year, the American Heart Association recognizes participating hospitals that demonstrate high commitment to following guidelines shown to improve patient outcomes. The award recognizes hospitals’ commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
For the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals are recognized for two or more consecutive years of 85 percent or higher adherence on all achievement measures applicable and 75 percent or higher adherence with four or more select quality measures in heart failure.
The Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Plus Award recognizes time to thrombolytic therapy. For this award, hospitals must have door-to-needle times within 45 minutes for at least 75 percent of applicable patients and door-to-needle times within 30 minutes for at least 50 percent of applicable patients.
