Lourdes Nationally Recognized Again for High-Quality Stroke Care
August 08, 2023
Our Lady of Lourdes is among only three Louisiana hospitals honored for 10 or more consecutive years as a Stroke Gold Plus recipient by the American Heart Association Get with the Guidelines® program for life-saving stroke care
LAFAYETTE, La. – Our Lady of Lourdes is one of only three Louisiana hospitals – and the only hospital in Acadiana – honored with the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for 10 consecutive years.
“It truly is humbling to receive this award from the American Heart Association for 10 years running,” said Julian Briggs, RN, Heart Services Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital.
“Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis for area stroke patients, ensuring more can enjoy longer, healthier lives,” Briggs added. “We are exceptionally proud of our physicians, staff and other team members who constantly strive to provide the best care possible every day for our patients.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. 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, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
Our Lady of Lourdes received the Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus honor for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients get the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. Ultimately, that means more lives are saved and stroke survivor disability is reduced. The hospital’s Stroke Center of Excellence, the first facility of its kind in Acadiana, earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. Consistently ranked among the best in the nation for immediate response in stroke care, Our Lady of Lourdes takes a multi-faceted Fast Alert approach coordinating recovery efforts from all touch points, including ambulances, neurologists, neurosurgeons, nurses and full-time interventional neuroradiologists.
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Our Lady of Lourdes for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, MD, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
Our Lady of Lourdes also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke™ Elite award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase. In addition, Our Lady of Lourdes received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure 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.
About Our Lady of Lourdes Health
Founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady in 1949, Our Lady of Lourdes Health is a not–for–profit Catholic healthcare ministry based in Lafayette, Louisiana. With a regional acute care medical center that employs more than 2,800 people, Our Lady of Lourdes Health offers a physician staff of over 850 doctors in a variety of medical and surgical specialties. Lourdes’ services include Centers of Excellence in the areas of Orthopedics, Stroke and a Robotic Surgery Program. Lourdes is home to the only burn unit in Southwest Louisiana and a Commission on Cancer-accredited oncology program. Our Lady of Lourdes operates Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital, a premier 32-bed cardiac facility, and Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital, offering the area’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Level III Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With additional services including multiple clinics, four imaging locations and a primary care physician network, Lourdes provides easy access to comprehensive care throughout the community. Our Lady of Lourdes is part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System and is driven by its mission to serve all God’s people, especially those most in need. Discover more at LourdesRMC.com.
About Get With The Guidelines®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.