UK King’s Daughters has achieved the highest recognition from the American Heart Association (AHA) for stroke care for the twelfth consecutive year. The hospital received the Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus award, which includes the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. This national accolade underscores the facility’s commitment to enhancing stroke patient outcomes in the region.
This recognition is significant as UK King’s Daughters is one of only three medical centers in Kentucky to receive such a distinction and the sole facility in the Tri-State area.
Impact on Patient Care
The Get With The Guidelines program recognizes hospitals that consistently provide evidence-based care, leading to improved recovery, reduced disability, and enhanced survival rates for stroke patients. By adhering to stringent clinical guidelines, UK King’s Daughters ensures that patients receive timely and effective treatment, which is critical during a stroke event.
Research indicates that hospitals participating in this program demonstrate better patient outcomes, including lower readmission rates and a diminished risk of long-term disability. This accolade reflects the hospital’s capability not only to meet but to exceed these established standards.
Pathway to Recognition
Achieving this level of recognition involves meeting various performance metrics, including:
– Administration of clot-busting medication (IV thrombolytics) within 4.5 hours of symptom onset.
– Door-to-needle times: medication delivered within 60 minutes; for the Elite Plus honor roll, 75% of patients must be treated within 45 minutes, and 50% within 30 minutes.
– Antithrombotic therapy by hospital day 2 and at discharge.
– VTE prophylaxis and dysphagia screening completed by hospital day 2.
– Providing stroke education, smoking cessation counseling, and rehabilitation assessments.
– Prescribing anticoagulation for patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or flutter.
– Documentation of the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS).
– Intensive statin therapy prescribed at discharge.
Each of these measures plays an essential role in ensuring that stroke patients recover swiftly and return to their everyday lives with fewer complications.
The achievement belongs to the entire stroke care team, which includes emergency department physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, and various support teams. The collaboration extends to EMS crews who quickly identify strokes and to specialists in the ICU and Neurosciences Unit.
UK King’s Daughters expresses gratitude for the dedication, skill, and commitment of its team in providing critical care to stroke patients when it is needed most.
Stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, but the efforts made by institutions like UK King’s Daughters are pivotal in changing this narrative. This recognition not only highlights the hospital’s ability to adhere to national standards but also positions it as a leader in the ongoing effort to improve stroke care in Kentucky and beyond.
