Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek and Antioch Recognized for Stroke Care

Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Centers in Antioch and Walnut Creek have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus. The award recognizes the hospitals commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

“We are committed to keeping our community healthy and are proud to be recognized for the high-quality stroke care we provide our patients,” said Colleen McKeown, area manager and senior vice president for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area.

The award acknowledges that both Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in Antioch and Walnut Creek reached an aggressive goal of achieving 85% or higher of all the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive years.

"This award recognizes that it takes a committed team of physicians and staff to ensure our stroke patients are receiving the best care possible,” said Dr. Ken Grullon, co-physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area.

"Our multi-disciplinary approach to treating stroke is making a difference in lives every day,” added Dr. Sharon Mowat, co-physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo Area.

Part of this success comes from the work of two Kaiser Permanente Diablo Area physicians — Dr. Jeffrey Klingman and Dr. Mai Nguyen-Huynh – who were members of the team that developed the Stroke Express Program. The specialty care program standardizes and accelerates stroke care at all 21 Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Northern California.

The Stroke Express Program significantly reduces the time it takes to administer life-saving medication to patients presenting with acute stroke signs and symptoms. A team of physicians, nurses and other medical staff are trained to evaluate stroke patients quickly and provide rapid treatment to reduce the risk of long-term damage to the brain and body.

To qualify for the AHA's Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, hospitals must meet 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 medication can improve the chance of survival and minimize the risk of long-term damage.

Kaiser Permanente’s Antioch and Walnut Creek Medical Centers received the award after meeting specific quality achievement measures.

According to guidelines set by the American Stroke Association, a patient suffering from a stroke caused by disruption of blood flow due to a clot in the brain’s arteries should receive clot-dissolving medication within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital. Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals – including Antioch and Walnut Creek - are routinely achieving “door-to-needle” times for alteplase of under 60 minutes; and on average, are administering alteplase treatment in 33 minutes, nearly half of the recommended time.

In addition, both of the Kaiser Permanente Antioch and Walnut Creek Medical Centers are Primary Stroke Centers and have been awarded “Certificates of Distinction” for their exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for stroke care.