Henry Ford Stroke Centers Earn American Heart Association Quality Awards

DETROIT – All five of Henry Ford Health System’s hospitals that are equipped to treat stroke recently earned an American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines® recognition, which recognizes the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most effective treatment according to nationally-recognized, research-based guidelines. 

The hospitals earned the awards by meeting specific quality achievement measures for stroke care at a set level for a designated period of time. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines, with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.

“In recent years, advancements in stroke treatment have allowed us to treat this condition more effectively than ever before,” said Alex Chebl, M.D., director of the Division of Vascular Neurology for Henry Ford Health System and director of Henry Ford Hospital's Comprehensive Stroke Center. “The time it takes for a patient to receive treatment remains the single greatest factor in determining their outcome. Our level of commitment to getting patients the most-effective treatment, in the shortest amount of time possible, cannot be overstated.” 

The specific levels of recognition for each hospital are as follows:

• Henry Ford Hospital – Gold Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus
• Henry Ford Macomb Hospital – Gold Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus
• Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital – Gold Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll
• Henry Ford Allegiance Health – Silver Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite
• Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital – Bronze

Participation is the first level of Get With The Guidelines recognition. It acknowledges entry of baseline data into the Patient Management Tool™. Beyond participation, there are three levels of recognition, determined by the length of demonstrated performance:

• Gold recognizes performance of 24 consecutive months or more.
• Silver recognizes performance of 12 consecutive months.
• Bronze: recognizes performance of 90 consecutive days.

Silver Plus and Gold Plus Quality Awards are advanced levels of recognition, acknowledging hospitals for consistent compliance with Quality Measures embedded within the Patient Management Tool. 

The Target Stroke Honor Roll awards recognize hospitals for the speed at which eligible patients are treated with IV thrombolytic therapy.  The highest is Honor Roll Elite Plus, which means that 50% or more of patients receive this treatment within 45 minutes.  Henry Ford Hospital and Henry Ford Macomb Hospital are receiving this top recognition for the first time.

While advancements in stroke care have led to better outcomes for patients in recent years, stroke remains the leading cause of disability among U.S. citizens, and the fifth leading cause of death in the country. Every 40 seconds on average, an American will have a stroke, meaning approximately 795,000 Americans have a new or recurrent stroke annually.

To learn more or request an appointment with a Henry Ford stroke specialist, please visit henryford.com/stroke. 

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About Henry Ford Health System 
Henry Ford Health System is a six-hospital system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the nation's leading comprehensive, integrated health systems, recognized for clinical excellence and innovation. Henry Ford Health System provides both health insurance and health care delivery, including acute, specialty, primary and preventive care services backed by excellence in research and education. Henry Ford Health System is led by President & CEO Wright Lassiter III. Visit HenryFord.com to learn more.    

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 tools and resources to increase adherence to 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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Adkins / jadkins6@hfhs.org / (586) 307-2027