GREEN BAY, Wis. - Aurora BayCare Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award. Aurora BayCare has earned several awards from Get With The Guidelines for their commitment to stroke care. Get With The Guidelines-Stroke was developed to ensure proper commitment to stroke patients and that they receive appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
"As a Comprehensive Stroke Center, making sure our patients are treated timely and appropriately is at the core of what we do. Earning this award is a testament to our continued focus in stroke care," said Dr. Ziad Darkhabani, Stroke Medical Director. "Our ability to consistently provide advanced stroke treatment in a timely manner significantly improves patient outcomes. We have built a robust system of qualified stroke providers on every level. This system ensures consistent excellence for our patients and community we serve."
Aurora BayCare earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at an elite level for 24 months. These measures include the proper use of medications while incorporating the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines. The goal is to speed up recovery and reduce risk for death or disability in stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also receive proper education on managing their health, schedule a follow up visit, and take part of other transition interventions.
Aurora BayCare additionally received the association's Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award. To qualify for this recognition, Aurora BayCare met aggressive standards developed to reduce the time between the patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
"We are pleased to recognize Aurora BayCare Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care," said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates."
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
Aurora BayCare Medical Center is a 167-bed, full-service tertiary care hospital located at 2845 Greenbrier Road on Green Bay's east side. It opened in September 2001 as a joint venture of Aurora Health Care and BayCare Clinic. Aurora BayCare is committed to creating a better way to provide high quality tertiary healthcare, the latest in medical technology and superior service.
Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin-area health care provider and a national leader in efforts to improve health care quality. Aurora offers services at sites in more than 30 counties throughout eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Aurora is Wisconsin's most comprehensive health care provider and the state's largest private employer. Aurora serves more than 1.2 million patients every year via a comprehensive network of facilities, services and providers, including 15 hospitals, more than 150 clinics, more than 70 pharmacies and more than 33,000 Caregivers. As evidenced by more than 300 active clinical trials, Aurora is dedicated to delivering innovations to provide the best possible care today, and to define the best care for tomorrow. Get helpful health and wellness information via the Aurora MyHealth blog, our Facebook page, our Twitter account and our Pinterest account.
BayCare Clinic, baycare.net, is the largest physician-owned specialty-care clinic in northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. BayCare Clinic offers expertise in more than 20 specialties, with more than 100 physicians serving in 16 area communities. BayCare Clinic is a joint partner in Aurora BayCare Medical Center, a 167-bed, full-service hospital. Follow BayCare Clinic on Facebook and Twitter.