NEW BRUNSWICK – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick’s Comprehensive Stroke Center has earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and its Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll Award – two of the highest honors that a center can receive from the organization for exceptional stroke care.
The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. RWJUH’s Comprehensive Stroke Center earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health; get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
In addition, RWJUH’s Comprehensive Stroke Center also received the association’s Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll Award. To qualify for this recognition, 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 only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
RWJUH’s Comprehensive Stroke Center is certified by the Joint Commission. Joint Commission certification recognizes those hospitals that have state-of-the-art infrastructure, staff and training to receive and treat patients with the most complex strokes. RWJ underwent a rigorous onsite re-certification in the fall of 2017. Joint Commission experts reviewed RWJ’s compliance with the Comprehensive Stroke Center standards and requirements including advanced imaging capabilities, 24/7 availability of specialized treatments, and staff with the unique education and competencies to care for complex stroke patients.
To learn more about RWJUH, visit www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, call 1-888-MD-RWJUH.
