Marshall Earns National Honors for Stroke Treatment

June 6, 2017 — Marshall Hospital protocols suggest the deadline to give a stroke patient potentially life-saving treatment after they enter the emergency department is 60 minutes.

This ability to properly assess, diagnose and save stroke victims from debilitating injury or death has earned Marshall its latest honor. For the second straight year, the American Heart Association awarded Marshall its Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Marshall also qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll.

This award recognizes Marshall’s commitment and success in implementing a high standard of stroke care by ensuring that their stroke patients receive treatment that meets nationally accepted, evidence-based standards and recommendations. Facilities earn the honor by scoring in the 85th percentile or higher of seven – six for inpatients, one for outpatient treatment – stroke-related metrics.

“Our team works really hard for patients and their families,” Marshall Performance Improvement / Stroke Specialist Janice Weaver said. “Awards like this show our hard work is paying off. But the greatest accomplishment is found in the outcomes of the patients. Everything we do is to make a difference for the outcome of the patient.”

For possessing a wide range of stroke treatments, Marshall is accredited by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center.

The emergency department’s stroke team – a physician, registered nurse (RN), phlebotomist and CT technician – serves as its primary line of defense. In 2016 the hospital treated 265 stroke patients. Many of them received thrombolytic plasminogen activator (tPA) – aka “clot-busting” - - medication.

“A lot of patients when they arrive, they can’t move. They can’t speak. That medication can be the difference between temporary limitations and a lifetime of them,” Weaver said.

Marshall is an independent, nonprofit community healthcare provider located in the heart of the Sierra Foothills. Marshall includes Marshall Hospital, a fully accredited acute care facility with 125 beds in Placerville; several outpatient facilities in Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills and Georgetown; and many community health and education programs. Marshall has over 200 physicians and 1,500 employees providing quality healthcare services to more than 180,000 residents of El Dorado County.