WAUSAU, Wis. – People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40 percent higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30 percent increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Aspirus is committed to changing that.
Three Aspirus hospitals received the AHA’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Recognition:
- Aspirus Wausau Hospital – Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke GOLD PLUS with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Aspirus Langlade Hospital – Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke GOLD PLUS with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll & Get With The Guidelines® – Rural Stroke BRONZE
- Aspirus Medford Hospital – Get With The Guidelines® – Rural Stroke BRONZE
“Aspirus is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” Lisa Ebert, Aspirus System Stroke Coordinator. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis. The end goal is to ensure more people in our communities can experience longer, healthier lives.”
The awards recognize hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for intravenous thrombolytic therapy, timely hospital inter-facility transfer, dysphagia screening, symptom timeline and deficit assessment documentation, emergency medical services communication, brain imaging and stroke expert consultation.
“Patients and health care professionals in rural Wisconsin face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, volunteer expert for the AHA, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory from the AHA and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. “Aspirus has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”
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About the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW) is a statewide health philanthropy established by the Medical College of Wisconsin to steward a generous financial gift from Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin. Since 2004, AHW has invested more than $336 million in 600 health research, workforce development, and community health initiatives statewide. Learn more at www.ahwendowment.org.