American Heart Association Award recognizes Sharon Regional’s commitment to quality stroke care

(Sharon, PA) October 1, 2020 -  Sharon Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus with Honor Roll Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Sharon Regional earned the award 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 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. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“Sharon Regional is proud to serve our local community by providing advanced stroke care for patients and their families.   Our entire team is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Robert Rogalski,  President. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award

Sharon Regional  additionally received the Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures 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. 

Sharon Regional has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center or as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

“We are pleased to recognize Sharon Regional 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.

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About Sharon Regional Medical Center
Sharon Regional Medical Center has provided health care services to the region for more than 124 years. Mercer County’s largest hospital and health care system consists of a 184-bed Joint Commission accredited hospital, along with 19 satellite centers in Sharon, Hermitage, Mercer, New Castle and Hubbard, OH. Sharon Regional offers specialized services including Behavioral Health, Breast Care, Cancer Care, Diabetes, Emergency Care with specialized stroke and heart attack care, Mercer County’s only certified chest pain center, primary stroke center, open heart/angioplasty/ heart care center, Sleep Medicine, Sports Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Radiography, Winner EMS Institute, Women’s Center and Wound & Hyperbaric Care Center.  For more information, visit www.sharonregionalmedical.org .

About Get With The Guidelines®

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.