Modesto, Calif. – Aug. 26, 2021 – Doctors Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines-Stroke was developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.

“We are honored to be recognized once again by the American Heart Association for our team’s dedication to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival and quality of life after a stroke,” said Warren Kirk, CEO of Doctors Medical Center. “This recognition reflects our commitment to providing safe, high-quality patient care, and is a true testament to the amazing work of our physicians, nurses and clinical team.”

Each year program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.

“We are pleased to recognize Doctors Medical Center for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

Doctors Medical Center also received the Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

Additionally, Doctors Medical Center received the Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90-percent of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”

In 2020, Doctors Medical Center earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Comprehensive Stroke Certification, demonstrating the hospital’s continuous compliance with performance standards. Comprehensive Stroke Centers provide a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

There are 210 Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Centers around the country and only 27 in California. Doctors Medical Center is the only center in the Central Valley.