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SGMC Receives Stroke Quality Award

Posted on: July 22nd, 2019

This is SGMC’s fifth consecutive award for quality stroke care.

sgmc stroke quality

South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC) received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold-Plus Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Achievement Award. The award recognizes SGMC’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Commitment to Quality

This is SGMC’s fifth consecutive Gold Plus quality award. SGMC 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.

“SGMC is located in what is referred to as the ‘Stroke Belt.’  We see a high volume of stroke patient. Because of the high incidence of stroke, we take our stroke protocol very seriously. We have an excellent team that puts patient care in the forefront of all we do. SGMC is considered a model for best practices in stroke care.” 

-Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Dawson

SGMC additionally received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award for meeting 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.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 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.

About SGMC

South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC) is a 3-hospital health system whose main campus is located in Valdosta, Georgia. SGMC, its campuses and affiliates serve a 9-county area in South Central Georgia and North Florida. The main hospital provides acute medical care and specialty services including robotic-assisted surgeries, general surgeries, comprehensive cancer care, cardiothoracic surgery, endovascular surgeries, women and children’s services, imaging services, neurology, spine surgery, orthopedics and emergency services. For more information including a list of support services, visit our website, www.sgmc.org

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.