St. Anthony’s Hospital Again Earns National Award for Quality Stroke Treatment

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (July 2, 2018) -- St. Anthony’s Hospital, which has been designated as a Primary Stroke Center, has once again been recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for providing quality stroke care. The hospital earned the Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and the Target: Stroke Elite award.

“We are honored that the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association know that we have a deep commitment to providing quality care for stroke patients,” said Allan Weiss, MD, a neurologist who is medical director of the St. Anthony’s stroke program. “At St. Anthony’s, we offer specialized emergency stroke care through a team assembled to minimize damage to the patient’s brain and body. We know that every second of every minute makes a difference in treating those who are suffering a stroke.”

St. Anthony’s Hospital earned the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award by gaining 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more years. During that same period, St. Anthony’s also achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of the eight Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

To earn the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite recognition, St. Anthony’s had to meet for a designated period quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with medication aimed at reducing death and disability from stroke. 

Before being discharged, patients also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC.gov) show that nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. According to the CDC, on average, every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke, while every four minutes, a person dies from a stroke.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association quality measures are designed to help hospital teams follow the most current, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing disability for stroke patients. According to the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association, these guideline have impacted more than six million patients since 2001.

St. Anthony's Hospital also has received Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers from The Joint Commission in conjunction with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Dr. Weiss who is medical director of the St. Anthony’s stroke program, leads a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, technicians and rehabilitation therapists to provide comprehensive care to stroke patients.

For more information on the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® hospital-based quality improvement program, visit Heart.org/Quality. For more information on St. Anthony’s stroke program, call (727) 825-1111 or visit BayCare.org/SAH.

About St. Anthony’s Hospital
St. Anthony’s Hospital is a 393-bed hospital founded in 1931 as a ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany. St. Anthony’s has a rich history dedicated to improving the health of the community by providing high-quality, innovative and compassionate care. For more information on St. Anthony’s, call (727) 953-6993 or go to www.BayCare.org/SAH.

About BayCare
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.  For more information visit www.BayCare.org.

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