SOUTHBRIDGE and WEBSTER, MA – Harrington Hospital in Southbridge and Harrington Hospital – Webster have each earned multiple awards for stroke care from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) Paul Coverdell Stroke Systems of Care Collaborative. The awards recognize achievements in meeting quality of care benchmarks and participation requirements of the collaborative. Both of Harrington Hospital’s Emergency Care locations are designated Primary Stroke Service Centers.
Harrington Hospital in Southbridge received awards for achieving door-to-CT times of 25 minutes or less for at least 75% of stroke patients, and for completing the 30-day American Heart Association (AHA) get with the Guidelines Post-Discharge Follow-Up form for at least 75% of discharged patients.
Harrington Hospital – Webster also received an award for meeting the door-to-CT time of 25 minutes or less, as well as an award for completing a dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) screen on at least 95% of stroke patients.
“The ability to rapidly identify and treat patients who exhibit signs and symptoms of stroke is critical to ensuring the best possible recovery for these patients,” said Harrington HealthCare System President and CEO Ed Moore. “Our Emergency Care team works tirelessly to ensure that we meet or exceed best practices for stroke care. We strive for the best possible outcomes for all of our patients and that is the ultimate reward, but we’re so pleased that our efforts have been recognized with these awards as well.”
Harrington Hospital’s nurses and doctors work in collaboration with the UMass Memorial Medical Center Department of Neurology TeleStroke Program to provide 24/7 on-demand emergency neurology consultation to subscriber hospitals in order to improve the care of stroke patients in the community.
The program utilizes two-way, audio-visual teleconferencing technology to allow the assessment and treatment of admitted patients or patients who arrive in Harrington Hospital’s Emergency Care Centers with suspected stroke symptoms.
These Coverdell awards are the latest in a series of recognitions awarded to Harrington HealthCare System recently for quality of care. In May the healthcare system was awarded its 14th grade “A” from in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing Harrington HealthCare System’s achievements providing safer health care. And in March, Harrington Hospital was named a Blue Distinction Center for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery, one of just six Massachusetts facilities to receive this new distinction from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA).
Prior awards for the hospital’s stroke care include the SCORE (Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence) Defect-Free Care Award from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program; the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in 2016; and the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus award in 2014.
About Harrington HealthCare System
Harrington HealthCare System is a comprehensive regional healthcare system serving more than 25 communities across south central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. The system includes Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, Harrington HealthCare at Webster and three additional major medical office buildings: Harrington HealthCare at Charlton, Harrington HealthCare at 169, also in Charlton, and Harrington HealthCare at Spencer; Harrington Physician Services, our primary care and multi-specialty physician group; UrgentCare Express at Harrington in Charlton and Oxford; The Cancer Center at Harrington in Southbridge, and the region’s largest Behavioral Health programs for mental health and substance use. www.harringtonhospital.org
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