Penobscot Bay Medical Center's Stroke Center
Earns National Recognition

Penobscot Bay Medical Center as received the American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes PBMC's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

PBMC and Maine Medical Center are the only two Maine hospitals to receive this recognition, which was published in a recent edition of U.S. News and World Report.

"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG–Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time," said Eileen Hawkins, RN, stroke center coordinator.

PBMC has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award, PBMC onsistently complied for at least one year with the requirements in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. This twelve-month evaluation period is the second in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain this award.

"The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients," said Dr. Dana Goldsmith, PBMC vice president of medical affairs. "This requires the full and complete attention and cooperation of PBMC doctors and nurses. Excellent patient care is our goal every minute, every day. We are pleased to be honored for it."

"The time is right for PBMC to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines–Stroke. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population," said Hawkins.

Get With The Guidelines–Stroke uses the "teachable moment," the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals' guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke — 610,000 are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States is suffering from a stroke. This deadly condition accounts for 1 out of every 18 deaths in the United States.

For more information about the PBMC Stroke Center, please visit pbmc.org/stroke.