Northside Forsyth Wins Awards For Stroke, Cardiovascular Care

CUMMING, GA — Northside Hospital's three facilities around metro Atlanta have been recognized with multiple awards from the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines, or GWTG, and Mission: Lifeline quality improvement programs.

Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs, Northside Hospital Cherokee in Canton and Northside Hospital Forsyth in Cumming have been commended for their commitment to "ensuring patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence," the hospital system said.

"I am very proud of our physicians and staff for their constant hard work in achieving these awards, but most importantly for their dedication to helping our patients have the best possible outcomes," said Patricia Tyson, director of the Northside Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute.

The three hospitals earned recognitions for their treatment of patients who suffer cardiac arrests, heart failure and stroke in the hospital:

Northside Hospital Forsyth

• GWTG Heart Failure Gold Plus Target: HF Honor Roll Quality Achievement Award
• GWTG Resuscitation Gold Quality Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Gold NSTEMI Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Gold Receiving STEMI Achievement Award

Northside Hospital

• GWTG Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Gold Receiving STEMI Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Silver NSTEMI Achievement Award

Northside Hospital Cherokee

• GWTG Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
• GWTG Resuscitation Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus Receiving STEMI Achievement Award
• Mission: Lifeline Silver NSTEMI Achievement Award

Additionally, all three hospitals received the association's Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award for meeting quality measures developed to reduce the time between a stroke patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

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"We are pleased to recognize the Northside Hospital system for their commitment following these guidelines," said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. "Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates."

Get With The Guidelines is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001.

The American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines.

Patch Editor Kristal Dixon contributed to this article

Image via Northside Hospital