Campuses Win American Heart and Stroke Association Awards

St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) has been honored by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for its exceptional work in stroke care by earning several Get with The Guidelines (GWTG) awards.

GWTG awards recognize the St. Luke’s network’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

St. Luke’s hospitals honored with a Get with the Guidelines award are:

 

St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite & Advanced Therapy and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Anderson Campus

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus / St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Monroe Campus

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Warren Campus

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus

Stroke Gold Plus, Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Allentown Campus

Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Stroke Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Miners Campus

Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Stroke and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

St. Luke’s Lehighton Campus

Stroke Silver Plus, Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

 

“These awards are not just nice honors, they are a recognition of how each individual hospital performs for its community,” says Daniel Ackerman, MD, vice chair, Department of Neurology, medical director of Stroke and Vascular Neurology, St. Luke’s University Health Network.

St. Luke’s earned the awards by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.

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.

“We know that stroke is a team sport, and as with any complicated process, it really takes buy-in from everyone involved,” explains Dr. Ackerman.

“Stroke care does not start at the hospital; it really starts at home when families or friends recognize symptoms, so we take every opportunity to provide community education. At the level of our hospitals, everyone is involved.”

“We have also taken the wonderful opportunity to partner with our local EMS corps. The EMS and first responders in our region are often the first medical personnel who see a patient and can identify that they are having a stroke.”

For more information about St. Luke’s award-winning stroke care call 1-866-STLUKES.

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