St. Luke’s Health Memorial Lufkin Earns Prestigious Stroke Award

Located deep in the heart of the Stroke Belt, St. Luke’s Health Memorial Lufkin recognizes the desperate need for quality stroke care and improving the lives of our community. For the fourth year in a row, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association awarded St. Luke’s Health Memorial Lufkin with the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award for outstanding stroke care.

St. Luke’s Health is one of an elite number of hospitals to achieve 85 percent or higher compliance with all Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Achievement Measures and 75 percent or higher compliance with five or more Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Measures for two or more consecutive years. Additionally, the hospital was recognized for achieving Time to Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy in less than 60 minutes in more than 50 percent of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients.

“Our greatest reward is serving our patients to achieve the best possible outcomes. That’s why we’re committed to turning treatment guidelines into lifelines,” said St. Luke’s Health Memorial Lufkin President and System Chief Operating Officer Shawn Barnett. “Being honored for providing excellent patient care is the best recognition a hospital can receive.”

Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to the latest scientific treatment guidelines. 

Angelina County is situated in a volatile area plagued with an overabundance of stroke incidents, called the Stroke Belt. High rates of uninsured and underserved populations coupled with significantly higher risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and overall lack of well-being relates to more patients experiencing strokes each year in this area than in any other region of the country.

Even though May is known nationally as Stroke Month, St. Luke’s Health Memorial places a high level of importance on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, rehabilitation, and recovery of stroke patients every day. With board certified neurologists and neurosurgeons on staff, St. Luke's Health Memorial is the area's first and only Joint Commission Certified Primary Care Stroke Center. 

During the month of May, the American Stroke Association strives to get the word out about the No. 5 deadliest disease in the United States. Every 40 seconds someone in the nation has a stroke, and it is the No. 1 leading cause of disability in the U.S. It’s essential to recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke, by learning to act FAST.

• Face Drooping
• Arm Weakness
• Speech Difficulty
• Time to Call 9-1-1

Recognizing these symptoms and calling 9-1-1 could make the difference between life and death or between full recovery and permanent disability.

When a stroke patient arrives at St. Luke’s Health Memorial, a dedicated stroke team meets him or her at the door to provide timely treatment. That’s why earning the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award truly is truly a team effort. Physicians, nurses, the entire Emergency Department team and quality improvement professionals turn these guidelines into a daily practice to improve the lives of stroke patients.

The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke GOLD PLUS award is the highest recognition given by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.