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Phelps Memorial Hospital Center Receives “Gold Plus” Award from American Stroke Association

Third Year in a Row for Stroke Center at Phelps

(September 20, 2012) Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, for the third year in a row, has been awarded the “Gold Plus” Performance Achievement Award for outstanding stroke care. The award recognizes the hospital’s success in providing a high level of stroke care by ensuring that patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

To earn the award, a hospital must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Performance Achievement Award demonstrates Phelps’ commitment to being one of the top hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said Dr. Sanda Carniciu, Physician Director of the Stroke Center at Phelps. “We will continue to focus on providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every three minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Eighty percent of strokes are preventable, but only 26 percent of the general public can name one or more of the warning signs.

In order to help raise awareness of stroke symptoms, Phelps conducts a health fair every year for students at Sleepy Hollow High School. Both students and faculty are educated as to what to look for. Known as Act FAST, Facial droop, Arms drift (diminishing strength), Slurred speech, Time to call 911, or Trouble with understanding, seeing, walking, swallowing or talking. Why students? Because stroke can occur in young people. Also, young people who spends time with elderly grandparents or volunteer with senior citizens should be aware of the signs of stroke – they could save a life.

For information about the Stroke Center at Phelps, call 914-366-3397. For more information on Get With the Guidelines, visit www.americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.