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Harlingen, July 01, 2009 -- Life-saving care provided by Valley Baptist employees and physicians has enabled Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen to receive a national “Gold Performance Achievement” award for care of stroke patients from the American Stroke Association.
The national awards program, Get With The Guidelines, is designed to help ensure that the care hospitals provide for stroke is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines. Valley Baptist-Harlingen joins Valley Baptist-Brownsville in receiving the “gold” award, which indicates 85 percent or greater compliance with national guidelines for at least 24 consecutive months for care of stroke. In addition to the stroke awards, both Valley Baptist-Harlingen and Valley Baptist-Brownsville have received “Get With the Guidelines” awards for treatment of coronary artery disease and heart failure from the American Heart Association. These accomplishments will be recognized by the Heart Association in future issues of U.S. News & World Report magazine.
“Congratulations to all of the nurses, physicians, and other professionals whose hard work and commitment to providing quality patient care has earned Valley-Baptist-Harlingen and Valley Baptist-Brownsville the Gold Performance Achievement awards,” said James Eastham, CEO for Valley Baptist Health System. “This achievement reflects the physicians’ and employees’ commitment to providing Valley Baptist patients with a level of care that not only saves lives but also improves the quality of patients’ lives once they leave our hospitals.”
The “Get With the Guidelines” award addresses the important element of time, since with a stroke, “time lost is brain lost.” Valley Baptist has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
Under the national protocols, stroke patients may receive life-saving medications such as tPA, antithrombotics and DVT prohphylaxis, as well anticoagulation therapy, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation counseling. “The Get With The Guidelines” program also stresses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of having a second stroke.
Each year in the United States, 700,000 people suffer a stroke. In addition, heart disease and stroke rank as the number one killer of Hispanics in the United States. For more information, consult your physician and visit www.valleybaptist.net.
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