NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Receives National Recognition for Excellence in Stroke Care

Jun 12, 2015

June 12, 2015

Milton Nuñez, Executive Director of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) Lincoln Medical Center, announced today that HHC Lincoln has received from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) the “Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Award” as well as the “Get With The Guidelines® – Target: Stroke Honor Roll – Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award,” for the successful implementation of higher standards of stroke care, aimed at reducing death and disability, and improving the lives of stroke patients.

“When a patient comes through our doors in a critical situation, they trust us to provide the right care, at the right time,” said Milton Nuñez. “As a New York State designated Stroke Center, Lincoln Medical Center continues to achieve a high level of quality performance, implementing life-prolonging treatments, and ensuring that the care we provide to stroke patients is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines.”
HHC Lincoln earned the “Stroke Gold Plus Award” for achieving 85% or higher compliance for two consecutive years with all seven of the Association’s stroke achievement measures, including aggressive guidelines for the use of certain medications, and encouraging patients to enroll in Smoking Cessation and other secondary stroke prevention programs to improve patient outcomes.
To achieve the “Target: Stroke Honor Roll – Elite Plus Award,” hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the blood clot-busting medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, the medication, tPA, has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.
“Our receipt of this important Gold Plus status and our inclusion in the Honor Roll-Elite Plus is a testament to the great care provided at Lincoln Medical Center,” said Anita Soni, MD, Chief Medical Officer. “I am proud of our world-class medical team whom work tirelessly to ensure that stroke patients receive the most appropriate and evidenced-based treatment. The patients in our community deserve the absolute best in healthcare and we work toward this goal daily.”
“The Gold Plus is a top award given to select hospitals in each state and would not have been possible without the support and hard work from multiple disciplines and departments,” said Riyad Basir, MD, FCCP, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Director of Stroke Center. “This is one of the finest examples of collaboration amongst interdisciplinary teams. With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and this award demonstrates our commitment to quality and patient-centered care.”

Contact: Ian Michaels, (212) 788-3339 Renelda Walker, Lincoln Medical Center,(718) 579-5777

About NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, located at 234 East 149th Street in the Bronx, is a 362-bed, Acute Care Level 1 Trauma Center with the busiest single site emergency department in the region. Winner of the 2012 American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Finalist Award, and 2013 recognition as a “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures” by The Joint Commission, the hospital emphasizes primary care and specialty medicine and uses the latest advances in medical science. The hospital is a member of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system.

About NYC Health + Hospitals

The NYC Health + Hospitals health care system is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system, the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country, and one of the New York area’s largest providers of government-sponsored health insurance, MetroPlusHealth Health Plan, the plan of choice for nearly half a million New Yorkers. The NYC Health + Hospitals health care system serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. The system provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. NYC Health + Hospitals/Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. The NYC Health + Hospitals system was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org or find us on https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.

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