Jefferson Health Earns Get With The Guidelines® Achievement Awards from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

Jefferson Health received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized research-based guidelines. Adhering to these proven practices leads to more lives saved, reduced long-term disability, shorter recovery times, and fewer readmissions to the hospital.  

Heart disease and stroke are the number one and number five causes of death in the United States, respectively, according to the American Heart Association. 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, causing brain cells die. The term “time is brain” refers to the nearly two million brain cells that are lost every minute when stroke is untreated. That’s why immediate treatment is essential to increasing survival and reducing long-term disability.

Get With The Guidelines^® puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals across the country helping ensure that high-quality care is given to patients experiencing a stroke or cardiac disease. Every year, program participants qualify for awards by demonstrating how their organization has committed to improving care.

“This recognition from the American Heart Association affirms the dedication on the part of our clinical teams to improving health outcomes for patients experiencing a stroke or heart disease by applying these proven practices,” says Baligh R. Yehia, MD, MPP, MSc, FACP, President, Jefferson Health and Executive Vice President, Jefferson. “Across Jefferson, clinicians are on the front lines providing quick emergency responses, administering lifesaving clot-busting drugs, performing advanced surgeries and providing immediate treatment prior to hospitalization in our mobile stroke units. Our focus is also on preventive care, helping people manage or avoid diabetes and other conditions that can cause a stroke or heart disease.”

The following is a list of all Jefferson Health awards with their specific targets. To qualify, hospitals must meet specific criteria. This includes Target: Stroke Award for reducing the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy; Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy Award for meeting specific criteria that reduces the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke; Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award for ensuring patients with type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke; and Heart Failure Awards for demonstrating a commitment to reducing readmissions and increasing healthy days at home.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll

Jefferson Torresdale Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Coronary Artery Disease: Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Coronary Artery Disease: Gold Plus Receiving
Stroke: Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Honor Roll
Heart Failure Award: Bronze

Jefferson Abington Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Get With The Guidelines^® Coronary Artery Disease: Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Coronary Artery Disease: Gold Plus Receiving
Heart Failure Award: Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Heart Failure Award: Target: Heart Failure Optimal Honor Roll
Heart Failure Award: Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Jefferson Lansdale Hospital

Coronary Artery Disease Award: Silver Referring
Stroke Award: Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Stroke Award: Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll
Stroke Award: Silver Plus

Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Jefferson Methodist Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Jefferson Washington Township Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Jefferson Stratford Hospital

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Get With The Guidelines^® Heart Failure Award: Participating

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hecktown Oaks

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll
Rural Bronze

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hazleton

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono

Get With The Guidelines^® Stroke Gold Plus
Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll

“Our clinicians at the Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience are helping improve lives through groundbreaking research and clinical expertise, and we’re honored that their hard work and achievements are being recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association,” says Robert H. Rosenwasser, MD, DSc, MBA, FACS, FAHA, Jewell L. Osterholm, MD, Professor of Neurological Surgery, and President/CEO of the Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience.

Jefferson Health is committed to providing the highest quality stroke and cardiovascular care to patients to save lives and reduce disability. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals/Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience is a Comprehensive Stroke Center along with Jefferson Abington Hospital, Jefferson Washington Township Hospital, and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest. Thrombectomy Stroke Capable hospitals are Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital, and Jefferson Torresdale Hospital. Hospitals designated Primary Stroke Centers include Jefferson Methodist Hospital, Jefferson Bucks Hospital, Jefferson Lansdale Hospital, Jefferson Stratford Hospital, Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hazleton, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill, and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hecktown Oaks.