Alameda Hospital is Nationally Recognized for Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

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The American Heart Association presented Alameda Hospital with the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus award for its dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care.

ALAMEDA, Calif., June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alameda Health System's Alameda Hospital has received the American Heart Association's Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® stroke quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. Strokes occur when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs and brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure 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.

"Alameda Hospital is committed to providing excellent patient care by adhering to the latest guidelines," said Felicia Tornabene, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Alameda Health System. "Get With The Guidelines helps our teams put evidence-based knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis which can help patients recover better. Our goal is to ensure more people in Alameda experience longer, healthier lives."

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home. 

"We are incredibly pleased to recognize Alameda Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke," said Steven Messe, M.D., chairperson of the 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."

Alameda Hospital also received the American Heart Association's Target: Stroke^SM Elite Honor Roll Award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase. Additionally, Alameda Hospital received the American Heart Association's Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

ALAMEDA HEALTH SYSTEM (AHS) is a leading public health care provider dedicated to caring, healing, teaching and serving all. AHS is a haven for the most vulnerable among us; an advocate for equitable, compassionate and culturally sensitive care regardless of social and financial barriers. AHS is a vanguard of medical excellence, with a teaching hospital that draws the nation's best medical students. As one of Alameda County's 15 largest employers, AHS is a major economic power providing more than 5,100 jobs and contributing nearly $560 million annually in salaries, wages and benefits. AHS is also home to more than 1,100 physicians across the nine facilities within the health system. Since 1864, AHS has served the East Bay's health care needs. For more information, visit AlamedaHealthSystem.org.

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

CONTACT:
Eleanor Ajala
Manager of Media & Communications 
Alameda Health System

SOURCE Alameda Health System