Huntsville Memorial Hospital Receives Award (WCP) 8/12/2019
The Huntsville Memorial Hospital received the Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award on Tuesday. The award is given to hospitals that meet specific quality measures in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. The American Heart Association’s award recognizes Huntsville Memorial Hospital’s commitment to quality stroke care.
Allison Capetillo, Director of Quality & Systems Improvement, from the American Heart Association presented the award to Steven L. Smith, who is the CEO of Huntsville Memorial Hospital. Capetillo said, “Without hospitals like Huntsville, we would not be able to continue on with the work of our mission to build a world of healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death in the United States, According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, and a leading cause of disability. Nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. suffers a stroke each year, which is about one stroke every 40 seconds. According to Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., National Chairperson for the Quality Oversite Committee, and Director of Acute Stroke Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
Huntsville Memorial Hospital was also awarded the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll/Target: Stroke Elite Plus Award. Hospitals must meet quality measures to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with a specific clot buster in order to qualify for this award. The clot buster is a plasminogen activator, or tPA, which is the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
Huntsville Memorial Hospital is a joint Commission-accredited, not-for-profit acute care community hospital. The hospital was founded in 1927 to memorialize those lost in World War I and provides care to patients in Walker county and surrounding communities.
Pictured in the photo from left to right: Allison Capetillo, Director, Quality & Systems Improvement, American Heart Association; Steven L. Smith, CEO Huntsville Memorial Hospital; Andrea Jaeger, Quality & Stroke Coordinator; Amanda Wheeler, Director of Emergency Services; Dr. Stephen Antwi, Emergency Department Medical Director
