St. Joseph’s/Candler is the first in the region to earn the 2010 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award.

This award recognizes that in the complicated ecosystem of a hospital, every department in a patient’s journey to recovery follows the highestquality, evidence-based treatment techniques as recommended by the AHA.

Last year SJ/C invested in technology to electronically bring our neurologists to rural hospitals like Effingham Hospital. But that investment would mean nothing if our physicians and nurses didn’t practice the best medicine.

To receive the award, SJ/C achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines- Stroke Performance Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“Every patient, every time is our mantra,” said Paul P. Hinchey, President & CEO of St. Joseph’s/Candler. “When a stroke hits, the more time is lost, the more brain is lost. That is why we’ve been committed to providing the most aggressive and proven stroke care available. This award shows that we’ve become one of the top hospitals in the nation for stroke care.”

Only two other hospitals in Georgia have earned Gold Plus status.

Dr. Frank Lafranchise, Neurologist and Medical Director of the SJ/C Stroke Program said the entire hospital system had to be involved in this process. He thanked the administration and staff. “It’s everything from the EMS personnel through the emergency department staff through acute care and rehab,” he said. “It's like the pieces of a clock sitting on a table; unless the pieces are assembled and carefully calibrated, the machine doesn't work.

He also thanked his partners at Savannah Neurology Specialists for their commitment and hard work they put in to make the process work.