PIH Health Hospital - Whittier Again Receives Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

Whittier, CA, December 04, 2013 --(PR.com)-- PIH Health Hospital – Whittier has once again received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the third year. The award recognizes PIH Health’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

To receive the award, PIH Health Hospital - Whittier achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

In addition to the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke award, PIH Health Hospital - Whittier has also been recognized as a recipient of the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll, for improving stroke care. Hospitals that have earned a Target: Stroke Honor Roll designation are recognized for meeting a specific Get With The Guidelines achievement level in addition to achieving IV rt-PA door-to-needle times 60 minutes or less in 50% or more of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients (minimum of 6) during one calendar quarter. This is a new honor for the Whittier hospital campus.

“The Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and Target: Stroke Honor Roll demonstrate our commitment to being among the best hospitals in the country for providing aggressive, proven stroke care,” said Joan Rolland RN, BS, MBA, MICN administrator, Emergency and Disaster Services at PIH Health Hospital - Whittier. “As a Los Angeles County designated Acute Stroke Center, you can count on us to provide quality care if you or a loved one should suffer a stroke.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

All people should know the various signs of stroke so that they can help others in a time of need. The acronym “FAST” stands for face, arms, speech, and time.

· Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
· Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
· Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
· Time: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

For more information on the Get With The Guidelines program, please visit heart.org/quality.