Eight UnityPoint Health Hospitals Nationally Recognized for their Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care

UnityPoint Health is proud to announce eight affiliated hospitals have received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke quality achievement awards for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment.

This recognition is based on nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

The UnityPoint Health hospitals recognized include:

• UnityPoint Health – Allen Hospital, Waterloo – Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award, Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll
• UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital, Dubuque – Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award, Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll and Mission: Lifeline® Stroke Certificate of Achievement
• UnityPoint Health – Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines – Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award, Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll
• UnityPoint Health – Jones Regional Medical Center, Anamosa – Mission: Lifeline® Stroke Certificate of Achievement
• UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids – Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award, Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll
• UnityPoint Health – Trinity Bettendorf – Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Award, Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll
• UnityPoint Health – Trinity Muscatine – Get with the Guidelines® – Rural Stroke Bronze, Silver and Silver Plus Awards
• UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center, Fort Dodge – Get with the Guidelines® – Rural Stroke Bronze and Silver Awards

Stroke is the fifth cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize UnityPoint Health for its commitment to caring for stroke patients,” said Steven Messe, MD, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”