April 22, 2005

Award recognizes MGH Stroke Service

Each year, some 700,000 Americans suffer new or recurrent strokes. Considered independently from other cardiovascular diseases, stroke remains the third leading cause of death in the United States and represents a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. With better systems for prevention and treatment in place, the American population could likely suffer fewer strokes, experience less severe side effects and achieve higher rates of stroke survival. Behind the efforts of neurologist Lee H. Schwamm, MD, and the MGH Acute Stroke Quality Taskforce, the MGH Stroke Service recently was recognized by the American Stroke Association (ASA) for implementation of an acute stroke quality improvement initiative focused on those areas.

On Feb. 3, the ASA recognized the MGH with its first Performance Achievement Award in stroke care for adherence to the quality measures in the organization's new "Get With The Guidelines-Stroke" (GWTG-Stroke) program. To receive the award, 85 percent of all eligible patients discharged from the hospital's stroke service in a calendar quarter must have received seven key interventions that reduce disability and risk of recurrent stroke based on published ASA guidelines.

Schwamm, director of MGH Acute Stroke Services and a member of the ASA National GTWG steering committee, is pleased to see the MGH's efforts around stroke prevention and treatment recognized. "Under Dr. Walter Koroshetz's outstanding leadership, the MGH Stroke Service has worked hard to provide the highest standard of stroke care to the MGH patient population," he says. "This means having systems in place for around-the-clock diagnosis and treatment, superb brain imaging capability and expert neurological evaluation. Rapid and aggressive treatment of stroke can be critical to minimizing injury to the brain and can have a significant positive impact on the overall health of the Boston-area population."

Nationally, Schwamm recently chaired an ASA task force to establish Stroke Systems of Care, which coordinate community and tertiary resources around the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of stroke. The task force's recommendations were published this month in the journals Stroke and Circulation, with Schwamm as lead author.