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CJW Medical Center’s Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals Receive American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Silver Performance Achievement Award

Richmond, VA, December 23, 2009 – CJW Medical Center’s Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals have received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM–Stroke (GWTG–Stroke) Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes their commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG–Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time,” said Mary Morrissette, Neuroscience Administrator for CJW Medical Center. CJW’s Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals have developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award, Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals consistently complied for at least one year with the requirements in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. This twelve-month evaluation period is the second in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain this award.

“The American Stroke Association commends CJW’s Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., Vice-Chair of the national Get With the Guidelines Steering Committee and Vice-Chair of the Neurology department  and director of acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

Get With The Guidelines–Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the GWTG Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

“The time is right for Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing Get With The Guidelines–Stroke. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” said Morrissette.

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke — 610,000 are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States is suffering from a stroke.  This deadly condition accounts for 1 out of every 18 deaths in the United States.

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About CJW Medical Center
CJW Medical Center has 758 beds on its two campuses. Chippenham Hospital, in the city of Richmond, offers a state-designated level III trauma center, The Levinson Heart Hospital and Tucker Pavilion; while Johnston-Willis Hospital, in Chesterfield County, offers the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital and the Neuroscience & Gamma Knife Center. CJW Medical Center is a member of HCA Virginia Health System. www.CJWMedical.com

About HCA Virginia Health System – Central Virginia Market
With 1,800 beds, more than 6,600 employees and 1,600 affiliated physicians, the Central Virginia team of HCA Virginia Health System is the largest and most comprehensive healthcare provider and one of the largest private employers in Central Virginia.  In Central Virginia, HCA Virginia Health System operates six hospital campuses along with freestanding surgery, imaging and family health centers.  Our hospitals include Chippenham Hospital, Johnston-Willis Hospital, John Randolph Medical Center, Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, Parham Doctors’ Hospital and Retreat Doctors’ Hospital.  Both CJW Medical Center and Henrico Doctors’ Hospital have been named HealthGrades ‘America’s 50 Best Hospitals’ in 2007 and 2008. They are the only Virginia hospitals to earn this distinction two years in a row. For more information or to select a physician, please contact 800-888-DOCS or visit www.HCAvirginia.com.
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