University Hospital has received the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association's Stroke Gold Plus award for the second year in a row.
American Heart Association spokesperson Stephen Hall said the Stroke Gold Plus award reflects the hospital’s efforts to give the best stroke care.
"The reason these awards are so significant that it is very important that individuals who exhibit symptoms of stroke are treated appropriately and with guidelines that are based on, you know, rapidly changing science and the most up to date information,” Hall said.
Dr. Pradeep Sahota, Chair of University Hospital's Department of Neurology, said his department is excited about winning the award again.
“When you get recognized that you are excellent in what you are doing, that you meet the measures and meet the measures in a higher proportion of patients than hospitals around the country can do, then you really feel proud that you are providing the best possible care," Sahota said.
Sahota said one of the performance measures for the award is how fast hospitals can treat stroke patients.
“The idea is time lost is brain lost," Sahota said. "So we want to, you know, get started very quickly so that we can have the best possible outcome for the patient.”
University Hospital was also named to the 2012 Stroke Honor Roll from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.