Gundersen's Stroke Center receives national award for great care

Gundersen Health System’s Primary Stroke Center has again been recognized for delivering the highest standard of care using The American Stroke Association (ASA) guidelines. For the fourth time, Gundersen has received the ASA’s “Gold Plus Award” for excellence in meeting and surpassing stroke care standards, known as the “Get with the Guidelines” program.

“The recognition demonstrates the high quality care we provide to our patients with stroke,” says Mary Cummins Collins, MS, Gundersen stroke coordinator. “This is not easy work, and it involves almost everyone in the entire Hospital. It is far-reaching and requires a lot of collaboration and cooperation. In order to meet these guidelines, everyone has to be performing at a high level.”

At Gundersen, patients who go to Emergency Services are rapidly assessed for stroke using specific assessment tools and criteria. This means Gundersen consistently begins stroke-stopping treatment within 60 minutes of the patient coming to Gundersen.

During the patient’s stay here and beyond, Gundersen follows specific protocols to determine what caused the stroke and to prevent strokes from occurring again—both in the hospital and after the patient leaves.

“For our patients, this recognition means that they can be assured they are receiving the most appropriate standard of care as supported by the ASA if they come to Gundersen,” says Mary. “For our organization, we take pride in the Gold Plus Award, which shows that our level of care meets and exceeds care found at other hospitals, including some very large hospital systems.”

The award was presented at the International Stroke Conference held recently in San Diego, Calif.