Stroke Association Gives Hospital Achievement Award

WATERBURY — The Primary Stroke Center at Waterbury Hospital has been given the American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines — Stroke Bronze Performance Achievement Award for consistently meeting the highest standards of care for stroke patients.

The award is given to hospital stroke programs that follow nationally accepted standards and guidelines for stroke treatment for a period of 90 consecutive days. A Silver Award is given when the guidelines are followed for a full year, which is the Primary Stroke Center’s next goal, said Steven Eisen, MD, medical director of the Stroke Center.

 “We feel this award signifies a well-deserved recognition of our staff’s dedication to providing the very best care for our patients,” said Dr Eisen said.

Kelly Poskus, RN, the hospital’s Stroke Center coordinator, said the stroke program staff regularly see the devastation caused by strokes, which is why they are so motivated to teach people how to prevent them.

“We try to be as comprehensive as possible, both in terms of treatment and education,” Ms Poskus said.

The treatment guidelines set by the American Stroke Association include aggressive use of medications, anticoagulation therapy, cholesterol reducing drugs, smoking cessation programs, and other methods of preventing and treating incidences of stroke.

Every year in the United States approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke, which is the cause of death for one out of every 18 deaths.