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Riverside Community Hospital Is Nationally Recognized for its Commitment to Providing High-Quality Stroke Care
The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines, Stroke Gold Plus award for proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care
Riverside, CA (6.27.2022) – Riverside Community Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® Stroke quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. 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.
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.
“Riverside Community Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Sari Nabulsi, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Riverside Community Hospital. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in our region can experience longer, healthier lives.”
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 Riverside Community Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, MD, chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “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.”
“Once again, we are changing the definition of what it means to be a community hospital,” said Jackie Van Blaricum, Chief Executive Officer at Riverside Community Hospital. “As one of the largest Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Southern California, patients and communities can take pride in knowing they are going to receive expert care.”
Riverside Community Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus 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. The hospital also earned the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award by meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.
About Riverside Community Hospital
Riverside Community Hospital, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, is a full-service acute care hospital founded in 1901 in the heart of the Inland Empire. The facility has been recognized as a Top Performing Hospital with 478-licensed beds, over 900 physicians on medical staff and 2,500 employees, representing over 200 specialties.
Riverside Community Hospital is a leader in providing advanced, comprehensive healthcare to Southern California. It houses the largest Emergency Room and Level I Trauma Center in Riverside County at 62 beds, is one of county’s only STEMI receiving centers, a fully accredited Chest Pain Center and an accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center. Centers of Excellence include the HeartCare Institute, offering invasive and non-invasive cardiac procedures, Comprehensive Transplant Program and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
For more information, visit RiversideCommunityHospital.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.
