Altru Health System Is Nationally Recognized for its Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

Altru Health System has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Achievement Awards. These awards recognize the hospital’s 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.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized by the American Heart/Stroke Association with this award. Altru is dedicated to improving patient care by adhering to the latest stroke guidelines. Our dedicated team spends a lot of time and effort to ensure patients with stroke get the highest level of medical care,” explained Dr. Cory Edwards, Altru stroke program medical director. “Following these guidelines ensures our patients receive the highest level of care and allows our patients to get the best possible outcomes. This award recognizes all the hard work by our team of healthcare providers. The end goal is to ensure more people in the Altru region can experience longer, healthier lives.”

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 with managing their health and recovery at home.

Altru has received two additional distinctions: the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke^SM Honor Roll Elite award and the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Altru Health System 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 healthcare systems, families and communities.”

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.

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 speeding recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 13 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.