UCI Health receives national recognition for stroke and heart failure care

UCI Health is pleased to announce it has earned the 2019 Get With The Guidelines® - Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in heart and stroke failure bestowed by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, 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.

“The achievements reflect the continuous commitment and dedication of our multidisciplinary stroke team to provide the best care for stroke patients and our community,” said Dr. Wen Yu, director of the UCI Health Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center.

Along with many stroke quality measures , hospitals recognized for the impressive Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll were required to meet specific time requirements such as: 

• Time to thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes in 75 percent or more of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous tPA AND time to thrombolytic therapy within 45 minutes in 50 percent of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous tPA.

Nationwide, heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death, coronary heart disease killing over 370,000 people every year. Also, every 40 seconds, an America will suffer a heart attack. 

“At UCI Health, we diagnose and treat all conditions of the heart and vascular system with state-of-the-art technology and expertise that is unmatched in the region, said Dr. Dawn Lombardo, director of the UCI Health Heart Failure Program. “We are honored to receive this award which shows our continued dedication to cardiac care, and improved outcomes for all of our patients. ” 

For cardiac care, UCI Health was honored with a Gold Plus Quality Award by the American Heart Association, and among various measures was required to: 

• Prescribe influenza vaccinations for heart patients during flu season 
• Implement follow up visits and home health care for patients with heart failure
• Provide ICD or implantable defibrillator counseling upon discharge for applicable patients

UCI Health comprises the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. The 417-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.