Northern Michigan Regional Hospital recently received three awards from the Michigan Department of Community Health at the Annual Stroke Conference held at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
The awards include outstanding performance for providing t-PA, the clot-busting drug, and stroke education; outstanding performance of defect free care; and outstanding performance on timeliness of case entering. To qualify for the t-PA and stroke education award, the stroke department at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital demonstrated the appropriate use of t-PA for eligible patients and provided the five elements of stroke education.
These elements consist of: the importance of calling emergency medical services in the event of a stroke; the need for follow-up with a primary care physician after discharge; education on patients’ personal risk factors after stroke (smoking cessation and others); stroke warning signs and symptoms; and education on new prescribed medications.
Criteria for the outstanding performance of defect free care are defined as providing every appropriate therapy to stroke patients. Stroke patients at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital have their conditions evaluated and then the appropriate therapy plan for each individual is determined and carried out. Northern Michigan Regional Hospital was the only hospital in the Michigan Stroke Registry to receive this particular award. The last award was for outstanding performance on timeliness of case entering into a national stroke database. This award was received in part because of the diligent effort Elaine Siwiec, neurology nurse clinician. At the stroke conference, 18 awards were handed out for both clinical performance and innovations in quality improvement. Winners were determined by the Michigan Stroke Registry and Quality Improvement Program team at the Michigan Department of Community Health upon assessing all available data from the 37 hospitals in the registry.
“We are very proud to have received not one, but three awards for outstanding performance from the Michigan Department of Community Health. This is one more testament to the fact that we continue to be at the forefront of stroke education, prevention, and treatment,” said Reezie DeVet, chief operating officer at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital.