NUMC RECEIVES SILVER PLUS PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR THE TREATMENT OF STROKE PATIENTS FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION/ AMERICAN STROKE ASSOCIATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2010

PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055

NUMC RECEIVES SILVER PLUS PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR THE TREATMENT OF STROKE PATIENTS FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION/ AMERICAN STROKE ASSOCIATION

SILVER PLUS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD DEMONSTRATES IMPROVED QUALITY OF CARE FOR STROKE PATIENTS AT NUMC

EAST MEADOW, NY… Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, is pleased to announce that the Nassau University Medical Center is the recipient of a silver plus commendation for the treatment of stroke patients by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. “I am proud and honored that the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have recognized NUMC for our success in using Get With the Guidelines to improve quality of care for heart disease and stroke patients,” said Gianelli.      “This award recognizes NUMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Receiving the silver plus award is a direct result of Dr. Ricardo (Eric) Cruz, Mary Ellen Samis, RN, Susan Marcin, RN and the entire stroke team for their dedication, commitment and professionalism to this endeavor and to achieving optimal stroke patient outcomes.”

The chair of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Lyn Weiss, MD stated: “I am pleased to report that thanks to the hard work of Dr. Cruz and his stroke team, NUMC is the recipient of a silver plus commendation for the treatment of stroke patients. I wish to congratulate and thank Dr. Cruz and his team for this well deserved award. They have put in hundreds of hours of hard work to improve the care of patients that come to NUMC.”

“To receive the GWTG-stroke silver plus performance achievement award, NUMC consistently complied with the requirements in the GWTG stroke program. These include the use of medications like t-PA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation,” said Ricardo (Eric) Cruz, MD, director of the stroke team and brain injury program of NUMC. Dr. Cruz added that with stroke, “Time lost is brain lost. That’s why the NUMC stroke team aspires to provide timely patient evaluations, brain scans and clot-busting medications. If a patient is diagnosed with a stroke, the stroke team at NUMC follows the patient through the recovery and rehabilitation process. Our goal is for the patient to recuperate quickly and return to a productive life.”

The Get with The Guidelines program achievement award recognizes hospitals that demonstrate at least 85 percent compliance in each of the seven GWTG-Stroke Achievement Measures. The different levels reflect the amount of time for which the hospital demonstrates performance. The silver plus level recognizes performance of 12 consecutive months.

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are national voluntary health agencies whose missions are, “building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.” The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association that focuses on reducing risk, disability and death from stroke through research, education, fund raising and advocacy. The American Heart Association created the American Stroke Association after many years of increasing emphasis on stroke. 

According to the American Heart Association, approximately 795,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke each year. On average, every 40 seconds somebody in the U.S. suffers a stroke. It’s the third largest cause of death and the leading cause of long term disability in the elderly in the U.S.

“At NUMC, stroke patients receive quality care from the time they present to the emergency department with stroke symptoms to the time they are discharged from the rehabilitation unit,” concluded Gianelli.

ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life.  Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community.  By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.

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