The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GoldPlus award for proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care
TEXARKANA, TEXAS 2024 — Wadley Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke GoldPlus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
Wadley also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.
Wadley also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Wadley Regional Medical Center for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is an in hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
“Wadley has a long standing commitment to stroke care exemplified by the fact that we were the first hospital in the area to be recognized by The Joint Commission as a primary stroke center, the first to use CT and MR perfusion to look at salvageable brain tissue, the only hospital with an IAC accredited vascular lab and around-the-clock live in-person neurologist available rather than using telemedicine,” says Dr. Khalid Malik, medical director of the Wadley Stroke program. “Our goal is and has always been to make sure our stroke patients get timely, appropriate care so they can enjoy longer, healthier lives. This recognition is a testament to the care we provide each and every day.”
Every year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.