Kent Hospital has been recognized for achievement in using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM program.

Kent and 569 other hospitals have been featured in a July 28 advertisement in the “America’s Best Hospitals” issue of US News & World Report to commemorate the receipt of Get With The Guidelines Gold or Silver Performance Achievement Award. The awards are given for achievement in coronary artery disease, stroke and/or heart failure treatment.

“It is a great honor to again be recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for their Get With The Guidelines program,” said Sandra Coletta, Kent Hospital President and CEO.

Hospitals are recognized in each category in which they achieve at least 85 percent compliance to Get With The Guidelines measures. Those hospitals marking 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months are given the Gold Performance Achievement Award, with the Silver Performance Achievement award going to those with 85 percent compliance for 12 consecutive months. Kent received the Silver Award.

Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Currently more than 1,450 hospitals participate in the program.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s advertisement recognizes Kent Hospital’s commitment and success in performance achievement.

“Health care providers who use Get With The Guidelines are armed with the latest evidence-based guidelines and immediate access to clinical decision support. The goal of this initiative is to ultimately improve the quality of life and help reduce deaths among heart and stroke patients,” said Lee Schwamm, M.D., national chairman, of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The goal of the Stroke Center at Kent Hospital is to speed the process of diagnosis and start treatment as quickly as possible. Stroke patients who are treated within three hours of the start of stroke symptoms are more likely to recover with little or no disability. The Stroke Center at Kent Hospital is prepared to handle any stroke-related emergency 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Kent stroke team is organized and trained to save precious minutes. If a person calls 911 immediately at the first signs of a stroke, EMS crews can notify the team that a potential stroke patient is en route. Potential stroke patients are evaluated within 10 minutes of arrival. Critical imaging scans are performed within 25 minutes and results arrive within 45 minutes. These steps allow careful diagnosis and treatment to begin within one hour of arrival.

Once the patient passes through the initial crisis stage, the Stroke Center offers all of the resources needed to aid in recovery. Since every situation is unique, each patient is evaluated, and then it is determined what services are needed. Kent’s full service stroke care includes an Intensive Care Unit for medical treatment and further evaluation, a Dedicated Stroke Unit to complete medical evaluation and start the recovery process, rehabilitation for intense therapies and outpatient rehabilitation for continued physical, occupational and speech therapies as needed.