May 15, 2013
The American Heart Association awarded UVa Health System with the Gold Plus Quality Achievement award that recognizes the quality of care that the hospital gives to people who are suffering a stroke.
The hospital has a stroke team on call 24 hours a day and can quickly give treatment.
When someone is suffering from a stroke, they should be treated within a few hours and a drug called Intravenous TPA is designed to break up clots that cause strokes. That drug should be given to patients in the first hour of their arrival to an emergency room.
"The national average for hospitals is to give 43% of patients TPA within that 60 minutes and here at UVa we're doing it about 73% of the time," says stroke program coordinator Heather Turner. "That was in 2012 and we're doing even better in 2013, so we are really focusing on getting these patients treated as quickly as possible."
The hospital's average time in treating a stroke patient is 57 minutes.
The stroke program also educates patients on the signs of a stroke, like numbness on one side of the body, difficulty speaking and swallowing as well as vision changes.
Both the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association certified UVa as a Primary Stroke Center.
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UVa Health System Awarded for Stroke Program