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By WILLIAM MARLOW | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – Shelby Baptist Medical Center has received a national award for the hospital’s stroke treatment and care.

The honor, a Stroke Honor Roll Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, was presented by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association as part of the Get With The Guidelines Target initiative.

The program recognizes a hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Shelby Baptist 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 and get a follow-up visit scheduled, while also using other care transition interventions.

Shelby Baptist Medical Center CEO Daniel Listi said the honor is demonstrative of the hospital staff’s ongoing dedication to providing excellent care for community members.

“Following our Primary Stroke Center accreditation in 2019, this latest achievement in moving from silver to gold status demonstrates our hospital’s continued dedication to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” Listi said

The Shelby Baptist medical team celebrated going from a Silver to Gold Status for Continued Improvement in Stroke Care. Listi said the award is especially noteworthy given the COVID-19 pandemic— a time when most hospitals are facing numerous challenges.

“The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes,” he said. “To achieve this improvement especially during these times when volumes are high due to COVID-19, this team should be commended for this achievement, which reaffirms to our patients they can depend on our hospital to provide quality patient care.”

Brittany Stegall, RN and Stroke Program Coordinator at Shelby said she attributes the improvement to the amazing teamwork across departments.

“It takes a lot of people working together to deliver fast, quality care to our stroke patients and with this, we are able to ensure our patients have the best chance at positive outcomes,” she said.

Furthermore, she shared Shelby Baptist continues to deliver a higher level of care through the alignment with Brookwood Baptist Health to allow for neuro-intervention as part of the network of services.

Shelby Baptist additionally received the association’s Target: Stroke 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.

“We are pleased to recognize Shelby Baptist Medical Center for its commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology. “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.”

Schwamm also serves as the director of Acute Stroke Services in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.