UC Health’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center and West Chester Hospital have once again received national recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) for their commitment to prioritizing quality stroke care for patients throughout our region and beyond.
UC Medical Center has received the 2023 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Advanced Therapy. West Chester Hospital has received the 2023 Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll. This is the ninth year that UC Medical Center has received Gold Plus recognition and the sixth year for West Chester Hospital.
“Our Comprehensive Stroke Center team of physicians and clinicians take pride in providing the most groundbreaking treatments available to patients in our tristate region. We see success stories in the care of our stroke patients each and every day,” Pooja Khatri, MD, co-director of the Stroke Center of Excellence at the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and professor of neurology and director of the Vascular Neurology Division within the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine at the UC College of Medicine.
“Through our leadership writing national and international clinical care guidelines and clinical trials, we also set the standard for stroke care in our region and worldwide,” Khatri said. “This has included establishing the first clot-busting drug and the first clot removal procedures worldwide. We brough our region its first mobile stroke unit, a way to bring advanced stroke treatment more quickly at the patient’s front door. We’ve also set up artificial intelligence-guided imaging at nearly all hospitals in the tristate region to speed up stroke diagnosis. We feel privileged to continuously develop the treatments today that become the standards for tomorrow.”
UC Medical Center and West Chester Hospital have earned this prestigious recognition by meeting specific quality achievement measures to diagnose and treat stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluating the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines to speed recovery and reduce death and disability for stroke patients.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. Brain cells die when part of the brain cannot receive the blood and oxygen it needs. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
UC Medical Center is home to Greater Cincinnati’s first adult Comprehensive Stroke Center and the most experienced stroke team in the region.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize UC Health 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.”
These awards recognize UC Health’s commitment to applying the most up-to-date evidence-based treatment guidelines to our patients, ensuring the best possible outcome. As a leader in stroke care within the Greater Cincinnati Region, UC Health is also home to the region’s first Mobile Stroke Unit, which quickly delivers advanced stroke care to those who need it most.