The Medical Center at Bowling Green nationally recognized again for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care
The Medical Center at Bowling Green has received the 2023 Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award with Honor Roll Elite Status and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. This is the fifth consecutive year The Medical Center has received the Gold Plus Award with Honor Roll Elite Status and the third consecutive year to receive the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award.
- Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award for commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.
- Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite 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 the clot-buster alteplase.
- Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor RollTM 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.
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.
“The Medical Center at Bowling Green is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest stroke treatment guidelines,” said Bill Singletary, RN, the hospital’s Stroke Program Coordinator. “The end goal is to ensure more people in Southcentral Kentucky who have experienced a stroke experience longer, healthier lives. Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our stroke teams to track our adherence to dozens of stroke guideline performance measures for continuous improvement. This award recognizes the stroke team’s ongoing commitment towards this goal.”
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.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize The Medical Center at Bowling Green for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., Chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for healthcare systems, families and communities.”
The Medical Center at Bowling Green is certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center.
