Sky Lakes Medical Center | Live Smart | Winter 2017

skylakes.org | LIVE smart 3 SAVE YOUR BRAIN Visit skylakes.org/healthlibrary to learn about how you can help avoid stroke, dementia or memory loss. We made the honor roll High-quality stroke care at Sky Lakes means better outcomes for patients The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association this fall announced that Sky Lakes Medical Center earned the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and also qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Honor Roll–Elite. This award recognizes the medical center’s commitment to and success in implementing a high standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients at Sky Lakes receive treatment that meets nationally accepted, evidence-based standards and recommendations. Above and beyond Hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines– Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines–Stroke quality measures to receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Sky Lakes achieved 100 percent adherence in most of the categories. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll–Elite, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster drug tissue plasminogen activator, known as tPA. It is the only drug federally approved to treat ischemic stroke, which occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Ischemic strokes account for almost 9 of 10 stroke cases. “For stroke patients, the more time that passes before treatment, the more brain cells they lose,” says Ron Woita, RN, Director of the Sky Lakes Emergency Department. F.A.S.T. . . . T. .A.S.T. AN EASY WAY TO REMEMBER THE SUDDEN SIGNS OF STROKE Does one side of the face droop? Is it numb? Can they smile? Is the smile uneven? Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Can they correctly repeat a simple sentence? Is it slurred or hard to understand? F ACE A RM S PEECH T IME IF SOMEONE SHOWS ANY OF THESE SIGNS, CALL 911 RIGHT AWAY. OTHER STROKE SIGNS Call 911 immediately, even if the signs go away. Note the time when the first signs appeared. It will help with treatment options. Sudden numbness or weakness of a leg. Sudden confusion or trouble understanding. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination. Sudden severe headache with no known cause. Source: American Stroke Association “This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely, and further reinforces our team’s hard work.” —Ron Woita, RN UNDER PRESSURE? Learn more about hypertension and what it means to your health at skylakes.org/ER .