AHA Stroke Care Award

St. George -- Dixie Regional Medical Center has been awarded the silver performance achievement award for implementing the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with the Guidelines stroke program for the second consecutive year. This achievement illustrates the hospital’s commitment to provide the best quality of heart and stroke care to our patients.

Get with the Guidelines is an evidence-based program for in-hospital quality improvement. It empowers healthcare provider teams to consistently treat heart and stroke patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines. Hospitals that have earned a silver performance achievement award followed treatment guidelines in certain key measures at least 85 percent of the time and maintained this performance level for one year.

"We are working hard to continue to improve the heart and stroke care offered to our patients," said Dr. Brett Christiansen, a physician lead in the program. "Time is absolutely crucial when someone has experienced stroke symptoms."

The symptoms of stroke depend on the type of stroke that is occurring, and may include sudden:

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

"If you suspect stroke, do not wait," said Dr. Christensen. "Call 911 or go directly to the emergency room."

Deborah Wyatt coordinates Dixie Regional’s interdisciplinary efforts for the Get with the Guidelines program and Dr. Christiansen, Marie Wright, and Dr. Luciana DeSaibro also serve as part of the team. These four lead the hospital’s efforts to continue to successfully implement this quality improvement program.