American Heart Association Award recognizes CMH’s commitment to quality stroke care

Pictured are (back row, L-R) CMHS Neurologist Dr. Nicholas Tarlov, Emergency Department Director Elaina Hall, Chief Operating Officer Adam Thunell, (front row, L-R) Director of Quality Kathy Wright, Director of Cardiovascular Services Diane Cornell, Stroke Coordinator Stephanie Lara-Jenkins, and Chief Nursing Officer Diane Drexler.

(Ventura, California) Community Memorial Hospital once again has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes CMH’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

“CMH is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative. The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes,” said Stephanie Lara-Jenkins, RN V, Stroke Coordinator for CMH.

CMH earned the award for another year 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 evaluating 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, and other care transition interventions.

CMH also received the Association’s Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll awards. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll recognition, hospitals must meet 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 r-tPA. This medication treats ischemic stroke, which is caused when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is blocked. To qualify for the Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award, CMH had to meet quality measures developed with more than 90 percent of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.” 

The association says stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. Nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that gives hospitals tools and resources to help them adhere to the latest research-based guidelines. 

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, the Centers for Family Health, and various outpatient centers serving communities located within Ventura County, California.