UNC Health Blue Ridge Recognized for Stroke Care

MORGANTON, N.C. (July 1, 2023) –

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UNC Health Blue Ridge UNC Health Blue Ridge has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Award 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.

“This award recognizes our team’s commitment to providing quality patient care for our stroke population,” said Sarah Van Horn, MSN, RN-BC, Patient Safety Officer. “We are very proud of our team and are excited to continue advancing stroke care within the region.”

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the US. 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 evidence- and research-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.

“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,” Van Horn said. “The end goal is to ensure more people in our communities 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.

UNC Health Blue Ridge also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduces the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase.

In addition, UNC Health Blue Ridge earned 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.

UNC Health Blue Ridge (www.unchealthblueridge.org) is a not-for-profit community healthcare system, providing advanced healthcare and wellness services from more than 40 locations across a three-county region of Western North Carolina. The system includes one hospital with two locations, a wellness center, and a continuing care retirement community. Nearly 120 primary care physicians, physician specialists and extenders in the Blue Ridge Medical Group combine with other physicians on the Medical Staff to serve patients in the region. UNC Health Blue Ridge provides graduate medical education programs for medical school graduates and students in allopathic and osteopathic medicine. UNCBR is affiliated with UNC Health System (www.unchealthcare.org), a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill.