Huntington Hospital is Nationally Recognized for Its Commitment to Providing High-quality Stroke Care

Huntington Hospital 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.

“Putting the American Heart Association’s latest stroke guidelines to work is essential to providing our patients with the best stroke care. With these research-based guidelines, we can drastically improve patient recovery,” said Arbi Ohanian, MD, medical director of Huntington Health’s Comprehensive Stroke Program. “Being recognized for several Target designations – especially the Advanced Therapy award – is a testament to our dedication to ensuring our patients can experience longer, healthier lives.”

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.

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 Huntington Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, MD, 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.”

Huntington Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll 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. 

In addition, Huntington Hospital received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll award by meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.

Huntington Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. The guideline 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.

Huntington Hospital also met specific scientific guidelines as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

You or a loved one doesn’t have to wait for a stroke to happen to see a neurologist. If you are having unexplained symptoms, such as uncontrolled headaches, challenges with your balance, vertigo (dizziness), or numbness or tingling, it may be best for a neurological exam.

For more information about strokes, visit: What Is A Stroke?

About Huntington Health

Huntington Health, www.huntingtonhealth.org, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, offers the full spectrum of care for every need: Whether at our hospital, urgent care, ambulatory surgery center, cancer center or doctor’s office, we’re here to care for the physical, mental and social well-being of every person. Huntington Hospital is home to the largest emergency department and only level-II trauma center in the San Gabriel Valley. And our Family Birth Center and level-III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) give babies the safest start to life.  Learn more about us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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.