MESA – Mountain Vista Medical Center, a member of the Steward Health Care family, has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

The Get With the Guidelines program provides hospital teams research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. The program has touched the lives of more than six million patients since 2001.

This year’s award marks the eighth consecutive year Mountain Vista Medical Center has been recognized for its excellent treatment of stroke patients.

“A stroke patient loses approximately two million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed,” said Leann Bauernfeind, Mountain Vista’s stroke program coordinator. “Every second counts when it comes to stoke care, and this recognition further demonstrates our staff’s commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely.”

Mountain Vista earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. 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. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

The hospital also received the association’s Target StrokeSM Elite Plus Award. To quality for this recognition, Mountain Vista met specific quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

“We are pleased to recognize Mountain Vista for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth cause of death and a 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.

For more information about Mountain Vista Medical Center and its stroke services, please visit  mvmedicalcenter.org

About Mountain Vista Medical Center

Mountain Vista Medical Center is a 178-bed, state-of-the-art hospital located in east Mesa, Arizona, offering comprehensive health care services, including emergency care, heart care, advanced surgical procedures, orthopedics, breast care, maternity care, women’s services, and help for a broad range of medical conditions. The Medical Center is equipped with the most advanced medical technology, in a resort-like setting, with features that include all private rooms, electronic health records, room service, and wireless Internet access.

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.