Phoenix Baptist Hospital, 19th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing excellent care for stroke patients, according to evidence-based guidelines.

Factors for the award include aggressive use of medications, such as antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

In addition, Phoenix Baptist Hospital has been recognized as a recipient of the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll, for improving stroke care. Over the past year, at least 50 percent of the hospital’s eligible ischemic stroke patients have received tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital (known as “door-to-needle” time). A thrombolytic, tPA has been shown to significantly reverse the effects of stroke and reduce permanent disability.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, 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.