Shands at UF stroke program receives award for third consecutive year

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2012) – For the third consecutive year, the Shands at the University of Florida Stroke Program has been awarded the Gold Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart/American Stroke Association. The award symbolizes the program’s commitment to evidence-based stroke guidelines that have been proven to provide superior clinical outcomes, increased survival rates and improved quality of life for stroke patients.

“Receipt of this prestigious honor for the third consecutive year validates the commitment of the Shands at UF Stroke Program to providing our community with the absolute best quality of care for victims of stroke,” said Michael Waters, M.D., Ph.D., UF neurologist and Shands at UF Stroke Program director. “Maintaining a high level of compliance with care guidelines clinically proven to improve outcomes after stroke is another way we strive to provide the best for our patients.”

“Get with the Guidelines” is the premier evidence-based, in-hospital quality improvement program of the American Stroke Association. The program ensures that the care provided to patients with stroke is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines and clinical trial evidence. Hospitals that have earned a gold performance award follow key treatment measures more than 85 percent of the time and have maintained that level of high performance for two consecutive years.

Waters said this award couldn’t have been achieved without the infrastructure and support of Shands, the UF College of Medicine, UF’s Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, and the doctors, nurses and support staff who continue to build the program.

The Shands at UF Stroke Program is a multidisciplinary team of UF neurologists, neuroradiologists, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, critical care physicians, emergency medicine physicians, rehabilitation specialists, nurse specialists and pharmacists who have a special interest and expertise in stroke and cerebrovascular disease.

The program focuses on stroke prevention by using strategic combinations of medications and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. The Shands at UF Stroke Program is the only Comprehensive Stroke Center in north central Florida.

For more information, visit:

http://neurology.ufl.edu/divisions-2/uf-shands-stroke-program/

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