VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

The VCU Medical Center’s Stroke Program has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) Gold and Gold Plus Performance Achievement awards.

The Gold--Stroke Award signifies 24 months compliance of 85 percent or greater for key AHA/ASA designated Joint Commission stroke performance measures. The Gold Plus Award is an additional AHA/ASA recognition, signifying an even higher level of performance for stroke care by the program.

“The Gold and Gold Plus Awards, the highest given by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, demonstrate the superior level of care of stroke patients at the VCU Medical Center,” said Warren Felton III, M.D., professor of neurology and ophthalmology and medical director of the VCU Stroke Center .

The awards compliment Joint Commission re-certification of the VCU Advanced Primary Stroke Center as VCU continues to advance comprehensive stroke care for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I would like to thank the physicians, nurses, other providers, and administration for their hard work and dedication to this effort.”

VCU Medical Center is the only hospital in central Virginia to be awarded the Gold and Gold Plus Awards for its treatment of strokes and the only university-based medical center in Virginia to have achieved these awards.

The program joins a very small number of Gold and Gold Plus hospitals in the country out of the more than 600 Joint Commission Primary Stroke Centers nationwide.

Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Currently more than 1,400 hospitals participate in the program. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.