Emerson Earns Award for Stroke Care

In a hospital setting, playing by the rules pays off.

The pay-offs are obvious regarding patient care, safety protocols and other areas of critical import. And, once in a while, playing by the rules also pays off in the form of a prestigious award.

Emerson Hospital has received the “Get With the Guidelines” Stroke Silver Plus award for its care of stroke patients who arrived at the hospital in 2012. The award is presented to hospitals that achieve 85 percent adherence to 10 quality standards defined by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

According to an announcement from the hospital, Emerson was designated as a primary stroke center in 2005, and since then has focused on consistently adhering to the “Get With the Guidelines” measures.

“Administering t-PA [tissue-plasminogen activator], when appropriate, is a key measure because we know it can reverse a stroke,” said Gert Walter, MD, an emergency medicine physician and co-chair of Emerson’s Stroke Committee, which formed when the Massachusetts Primary Stroke Services program began. “We have 24-hour CT scanning capability for that reason. If the patient isn’t a candidate for t-PA, we do everything we can for them. Community residents are fortunate that, in Massachusetts, local hospitals can treat stroke.”