All Five Henry Ford Health Hospitals Earn Highest Quality Recognition for Stroke Care from American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

The hospitals earned Gold Plus and Honor Roll Elite status for meeting quality achievement measures.

DETROIT (June 23, 2022) – All five hospitals of Henry Ford Health, which are equipped to treat stroke, earned Get with the Guidelines ®- Stroke Gold Plus and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite status for stroke care excellence from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

This top-quality achievement recognizes Henry Ford’s commitment to ensuring patients with stroke receive the most appropriate and timely treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines grounded in the latest scientific evidence.

This is the second consecutive year all of our hospitals have earned the Gold Plus designation, and the first time all of our hospitals at Henry Ford Health have earned Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite status,” said Alex Chebl, M.D. director of the Division of Vascular Neurology for Henry Ford Health and director of Henry Ford Hospital's Comprehensive Stroke Center. “While stroke continues to be a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, the lasting effects of stroke can be significantly minimized when a patient is treated quickly and with evidence-based therapies. These quality recognitions from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association are a testament to the consistency of care our patients receive when being treated for stroke at each one of our Henry Ford hospitals.”

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

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

The Gold Plus award, which is what all Henry Ford Health hospitals earned, is an advanced level of recognition, acknowledging consistent compliance with quality measures embedded within the Patient Management Tool. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with evidence-based guidelines to improve outcomes for those who experience stroke.

The Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite designation signifies that the hospitals achieved arrival to thrombolytic therapy times within 60 minutes for 85% or more of eligible acute ischemic stroke patients. IV tPA is a “clot busting” drug that helps break up the blood clot causing a disruption of blood flow to the brain, and the faster this is given, the more likely it is for patients to have better outcomes.

All five Henry Ford hospitals were also recognized with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll, which recognizes their commitment to ensuring patients with Type 2 diabetes receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized with a stroke.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Henry Ford Health for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “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.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

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

Serving communities across Michigan and beyond, Henry Ford Health is committed to partnering with patients and members along their entire health journey. Henry Ford Health provides a full continuum of services – from primary and preventative care, to complex and specialty care, health insurance, a full suite of home health offerings, virtual care, pharmacy, eye care and other healthcare retail.

It is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, recognized for clinical excellence in cancer care, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, and multi-organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the top five NIH-funded institutions in Michigan, Henry Ford Health engages in more than 2,000 research projects annually. Equally committed to educating the next generation of health professionals, Henry Ford Health trains more than 4,000 medical students, residents and fellows every year across 50+ accredited programs.

With more than 33,000 valued team members, Henry Ford Health is also among Michigan’s largest and most diverse employers, including nearly 6,000 physicians and researchers from the Henry Ford Medical Group, Henry Ford Physician Network and Jackson Health Network.

The health system is led by President and CEO, Wright L. Lassiter, III, and serves a growing number of customers across 250+ locations throughout Michigan including five acute care hospitals, two destination facilities for complex cancer and orthopedics and sports medicine care, three behavioral health facilities, and primary care and urgent care centers.

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.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Adkins / jadkins6@hfhs.org / 586.307.2027