Northwest Gets Stroke Care Honors

Two national organizations have recognized Northwest Hospital in Randallstown for its high standards of stroke care.

According to a news release from the hospital, both the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association presented the hospital with the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award.

“To earn this award, our stroke team has tangibly demonstrated its commitment to the rapid treatment of patients by consistently meeting rigorous standards,” Dr. Gurdeep S. Ahluwalia, neurologist and medical director of Northwest’s stroke program said in a statement.

“A stroke is like a heart attack in the brain, and the faster normal blood flow can be restored, the better the chances are a patient can make a full recovery," the doctor said.

The hospital has a system for fast diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients who are admitted to its emergency room, the release states.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States, it states.

According to the ASA, "On average, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and 795,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke each year," the release states.

Guidelines is the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s program to help hospitals follow guidelines and recommendations to help save lives.

Northwest Hospital is a part of LifeBridge Health that provides health services in northwest Baltimore.