The Vanderbilt Stroke Center team is better than gold, according to the American Stroke Association.
For the fourth consecutive year the center has achieved the Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll recognition for performance beyond the American Stroke Association’s Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
Members of the team include Jacki Ashburn, RN; Donna Boyd, RN; Kristin Cameron, MS, RN; Jimmy Closser, RN, CEN, AEMT; Jeff Fizer, RN, MHA and Robin Holbrook, MSN, MBA, CPHQ.
“They are the boots-on-the-ground folks. They are the ones at the bedside or watching the data charts who make sure our patients are receiving excellent care,” said Stroke Services Program Manager Kiersten Espaillat, DNP, APN. “The way we know that is because of the awards we keep receiving.”
The designation also requires close coordination and quality performance by Emergency Department triage, nursing staff, neurologists, radiologists and interventional specialists.
“It’s a lot of hard work from a lot of people,” Espaillat said.
The Honor Roll-Elite Plus designation is based on time metrics and quality measures, particularly the delivery of the clot-buster tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), when appropriate, within 45 minutes of a patient entering the emergency department.
The Honor Roll-Elite Plus designation was established in 2015, and the Stroke Center has received top recognition each year. A hospital must first achieve Gold Plus recognition. That recognition requires reaching 85 percent or higher on achievement guidelines set by the American Stroke Association for two or more years. Hospitals must also receive 75 percent or higher compliance on quality measures.
