BWFH is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ Honor Roll 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.

Stroke is the number five 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 evidence- and research-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.

“Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” says Chief Medical Officer Scott Schissel, MD, PhD. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community can experience longer, healthier lives.”

Each 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.

BWFH 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.

Recently retired Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President for Patient Care Services Cori Loescher, BSN, MM, RN, NEA-BC, chaired BWFH’s Stroke Committee and attributes this honor to that team’s dedication and hard work. “The Stroke Committee has been meeting monthly for the past several years to review stroke achievement and quality metrics data and identify opportunities for improvement,” she says. “Through a key improvement initiative aimed at improving compliance with documentation of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, templated notes from the Neurology consult service and a great effort from the Emergency Department, neurology consult and inpatient teams to document when a patient was not eligible for tPA, BWFH has achieved 24 months compliance with all Stroke Achievement measures earning the Gold Plus award for the first time. Additional efforts aimed at ensuring patients receive appropriate education, receive a speech/swallow screening and get a lipid panel have helped BWFH achieve this award. The Stroke Committee celebrated meeting our measure goals of 85 percent compliance for all achievement measures and 75 percent compliance on four of the six quality measures at the Brain Matters CNE Event in May during Stroke Awareness Month.”

BWFH’s Stroke Committee; from left: Emergency Department staff nurses Scarlett Santos, Jeffrey Allison, Lorraine Traft and Madeline Kaner, CT Scan Supervisor Ragdha Tabbara, Neurology nurse Danielle Toland, Chief of Clinical Neurology David Pilgrim, MD, Nurse Director for the ICU, Dialysis and Respiratory Estier Sayegh, MBA, BSN, RN, CNRN, PCCN, CCRN, Professional Development Manager for the Emergency Department, Nursing Supervisors and PCA Float Pool Beth Waters, MSN, RN, CPEN, Clinical Pharmacy and Medication Safety Manager Ann Katznelson, PharmD, Director of Hospital Quality Caitlin Manca, MPH, Nurse Director for the Emergency Department Robin Powell, MSN, RN, CEN, Radiology Project Manager Mirela Andoni and Senior Clinical Social Worker Stacy Jagher, MSW, LICSW

Published 7/12/23