Swedish Medical Center is Nationally Recognized for Its Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus award for proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care.

Englewood, CO, July 27, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Swedish Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus 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 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.

“Swedish Medical Center is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Dr. Jaya Kumar, Chief Medical Officer. “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 the Rocky Mountain Region 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.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Swedish 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.”

About Swedish Medical Center
Swedish Medical Center is located in the south metro Denver area where it has been a proud member of the community for more than 110 years. An acute care hospital with 408 licensed beds, annually Swedish cares for more than 200,000 patients with a team of approximately 2,000 dedicated employees, 300 volunteers and 1,400 physicians.

As a national leader in neurosciences, Swedish serves as the hub of the Swedish Neuro Network. The hospital is the Rocky Mountain Region’s preeminent referral center for the most advanced stroke treatment and was the state’s first Joint Commission certified Comprehensive Stroke Center. Swedish also is home to Colorado’s first fully comprehensive robotics program with nine robots in dedicated robotics operating rooms; patients benefit from a high level of specialization with robotics-trained caregivers at every stage of treatment, as well as robotics-specific design in the program’s dedicated pre-op, ORs, PACU and inpatient spaces. As the region’s neurotrauma and orthopedic trauma provider and a level I trauma facility, more than 150 facilities regularly transfer highly complex cases to Swedish. The trauma program includes a burn and reconstructive center, which has been certified for adult burn care by the American Burn Association and recognized nationally for providing the highest quality of care to adult and pediatric burn and reconstructive patients.

Swedish Medical Center is proud to be a part of the HCA Healthcare’s Continental Division, which was named the top health system in the state by IBM Watson Health and our system was named one of the top five large health systems in the country. This division includes our local system, HealthONE, which also received recognition as the top health system in the state by IBM Watson Health. Consistently among the Denver Business Journals’ list of top corporate philanthropists in the Denver-metro area, HealthONE contributed more than $889,000 through cash and in-kind donations last year alone, and also provided $677M in charity, uninsured and other uncompensated care along with nearly $200M in federal, state and local taxes.

About Get With The Guidelines®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
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Swedish Medical Center
Richard Grissom
(303) 788-5944
SwedishHospital.com
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