News at UI Health

UI Health again received two prestigious awards from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) that recognize quality and commitment in providing effective stroke and heart failure care using the most advanced procedures available.

The AHA/ASA honored UI Health with the  Get With the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Advanced Therapy — the highest level of recognition from the AHA/ASA — and the Get with the Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll recognition.  

This is the fifth consecutive year UI Health has received the top stroke award and third consecutive it has achieved the heart failure designation.  

These awards recognize UI Health's commitment to ensuring heart failure and stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.  

To qualify for Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Advanced Therapy, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. Hospitals recognized with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy designation meet door-to-device times in at least 50% of applicable patients within 90 minutes for direct arriving and within 60 minutes for emergency transport.  

UI Health earned Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award by meeting specific criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination, and enhances patient education. The goal is to reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.

To qualify for Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90 % of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the "Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score."

Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines® quality-improvement initiatives can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates. These notable accomplishments were made possible by the passion and dedication of the numerous disciplines that care for our stroke and heart patients here at UI Health.