PBGMC Receives Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus

Award demonstrates hospital’s commitment to quality care for stroke patients

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (May 20, 2015) ―  Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center earns the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus. The award recognizes the hospital’s dedication to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

“It is an honor to be recognized for our stroke services, especially with National Stroke Awareness Month right around the corner,” said Dr. Arun Talkad, stroke medical director at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “This achievement helps validate that our Primary Stroke Center is committed to providing advanced neurological care to our community.”

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods. 

To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, hospitals must be able to administer the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to stroke patients within 45 minutes of the patient's arrival at least 50% of the time and under 60 minutes 75% of the time. The average time to deliver the drug at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is 33.9 minutes. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability. 

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

“We are pleased to recognize Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce length of stay and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparities in care.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.  

To learn more about the Primary Stroke Center at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center visit http://bit.ly/1QF1b27, or for a complimentary referral to a neurologist near you, call 561-625-5070.