Today, Riverside Health System is excited to announce that Riverside Regional Medical Center, Riverside Doctors’ Hospital Williamsburg, Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital and Riverside Walter Reed Hospital have received the 2023 American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association’s (ASA) Get With the Guidelines—Stroke Gold PLUS Quality Achievement Award. All four acute care hospitals also earned the recognition of Target — Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll for their commitment to providing research-based, high-quality stroke care for presenting patients with type 2 diabetes. Riverside Regional Medical Center was additionally honored to receive the Target – Stroke Honor Roll Elite.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, strokes are the number 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when normal blood flow to the brain is interrupted, the blood vessel ruptures, or bleeding occurs in the brain. Within minutes, brain cells start dying. Fast diagnosis and treatment of a stroke is critical in saving as much brain function as possible.
“It is an honor to receive this recognition and reaffirms our pursuit to provide excellence in stroke care for our patients and the communities we serve,” says Mike Dacey, M.D., President & Chief Executive Officer at Riverside. “This award is a symbol of our collective success and a testament to the teams who display unwavering dedication to the mission of caring for others as we would care for those we love.”
Riverside Health System works across the region to ensure that stroke patients in the region receive the latest treatment protocols. Riverside Doctors Hospital Williamsburg, Riverside Walter Reed Hospital and Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital are designated as Primary Stroke Centers. Riverside Regional Medical Center is designated as a Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center – one of only seven in the state of Virginia.
Riverside earned the gold level award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a minimum of 24 months. These measures include evaluation of medications and other stroke treatments and are aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines that resulted in improving recovery times and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also received education on managing their health, scheduled a follow-up visit with their provider, as well as other care transition interventions as needed.
To qualify for the Stroke Honor Roll and Honor Roll Elite awards, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival to the hospital and treatment with TPA a “clot buster” medication used to break-up the clot causing blockage in blood flow to the brain. To qualify for the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award, hospitals must meet quality measures developed 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 proud to be recognized by the AHA/ASA award for providing leading edge stroke care for our patients,” says William H. McAllister, M.D., Neurosurgeon at Riverside Hampton Roads Neurosurgical & Spine Specialists. “As a part of Riverside’s Comprehensive Stroke program, we are committed to educating patients on how to identify stroke symptoms as early detection of strokes and quick treatment can save lives.”
Learn more about Riverside Regional Medical Center’s Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center and Riverside Health System’s stroke care services by visiting riversideonline.com/stroke.