KNI Repeats as Stroke Gold-Plus Honoree

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 9, 2015) - UK HealthCare's Kentucky Neuroscience Institute (KNI) has received the "Get With The Guidelines -"Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award" by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for maintaining nationally recognized standards for the treatment of stroke patients.
 

KNI also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. Over twelve months, at least 75 percent of the hospital’s ischemic stroke patients have received tPA within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital (known as door-to-needle time). Stroke patients who receive tPA within three hours of the onset of symptoms may recover more quickly and are less likely to suffer severe disability.
 

This year marks the fifth year that KNI has received Gold Plus designation. KNI has been named to the Target: Stroke Honor Roll the past two years and meets the criteria for the 'elite' level that was introduced this year.

Kentucky patients aren't the only ones benefiting from this achievement.

"By participating in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program, we are able to share our expertise with other member hospitals around the country, including access to the most up-to-date research, clinical tools and resources, and patient education resources," said Dr. Jessica Lee, director of UK HealthCare's Comprehensive Stroke Program.

"What this means for Kentuckians is that the best possible stroke care is available right here in Lexington."

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. In Kentucky, cardiovascular disease (which includes stroke) is the leading cause of death.  On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.