Falmouth Hospital Honored with Major National Stroke Award

Falmouth Hospital Honored with Major National Stroke Award

FALMOUTH -- Cape Cod Healthcare is pleased to announce that Falmouth Hospital has received the American Stroke Association?s Get With The Guidelines SM?Stroke (GWTG?Stroke) Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Falmouth Hospital?s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

?With a stroke, time lost is brain lost,? said Michael Leahy, M.D., co-chair ? along with Medical Director Daniel Kombert ? of the Stroke Committee at Falmouth Hospital, ?and the GWTG?Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time.?

Falmouth Hospital has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department, including a stroke nurse coordinator, Jean Estes, R.N. This system also includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

To receive the GWTG?Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award, Falmouth Hospital consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the GWTG?Stroke program for one year. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. The one year evaluation period is part of an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain this award.

?What really gets us excited is seeing the lives we?re impacting,? said Jean Estes, R.N., Stroke Nurse Coordinator at Falmouth Hospital. ?Our greatest reward is serving our patients.?

?The American Stroke Association commends Falmouth Hospital for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,? said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee Member and director of the acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. ?The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.?

?What really gets us excited is seeing the lives we?re impacting,? said Jean Estes, R.N., Stroke Nurse Coordinator at Falmouth Hospital. ?Our greatest reward is serving our patients.? Estes said everyone in Falmouth Hospital is involved in stroke care, from emergency room volunteers who are trained to recognize the symptoms of a stroke, to the radiologist who plays a role in determining where exactly the stroke occurred and whether there is bleeding. ?Stroke patients are housed on a floor of the hospital dedicated to strokes, which allows them personalized care,? she added.

GWTG?Stroke uses the ?teachable moment,? the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals? guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second stroke. Through GWTG?Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients? individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the GWTG Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 700,000 people suffer a stroke ? 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent attacks. Of stroke survivors, 21 percent of men and 24 percent of women die within a year, and for those aged 65 and older, the percentage is even higher. 

Falmouth Hospital is a partner within Cape Cod Healthcare, a comprehensive, regional healthcare system spanning the entire Cape. Cape Cod Healthcare is the leading provider of healthcare services for residents and visitors of Cape Cod. With more than 400 physicians and 4,500 employees, Cape Cod Healthcare has two-acute care hospitals, the largest home health services agency on the Cape (VNA), a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, an assisted living facility and numerous health programs. For more information, visit Cape Cod Healthcare?s web site at www.capecodhealth.org.

Release courtesy of Cape Cod Healthcare.