MAYWOOD, IL – For the 10th year in a row, Loyola University Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's 2018 Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

Loyola also received the AHA/ASA Target: Stroke Honor Roll Award. To quality 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-busting drug tPA.

The quality achievement award recognizes Loyola's commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Loyola earned the award by meeting quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments designed to reduce fatalities and disabilities. Before discharge, patients also should be educated on managing their health, have a follow-up visit scheduled and receive other care-transition interventions.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. 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.

Loyola’s comprehensive advanced Stroke Center offers a nationally recognized team of experts in every facet of stroke-related care, including emergency medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, neurophysiology, neuroradiology, rehabilitative services, social work, pharmacy and specialty nursing.