Silver Cross Hospital Stroke Program Honors are a ‘Total Team Effort’

The Stroke Program at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox has earned several honors from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke and diabetes care. 

Silver Cross was recently recognized with the following awards: 

• AHA’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Silver Plus award for proven dedication to ensuring all stroke patients have access to best practices and life-saving care;
• Its Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll award for meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy;
• Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award, which recognizes efforts to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke. 

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Genevieve Shimkus, RN, Silver Cross Stroke Program Coordinator. “It is the result of a total team effort, from when the patient gets to the Emergency Department, to rehab. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community can live longer, healthier lives.” 

Shimkus said Silver Cross is among the 2,600 stroke hospitals involved with the AHA’s Get With The Guidelines program. Each patient’s case is entered into a database and shared with the other hospitals to improve patient care and industry practices. 

Clinicians at these hospitals then can identify trends, she said, such as the incidences of co-morbidities of stroke, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. 

Shimkus said Silver Cross’ partnership with the University of Chicago Medicine has drastically reduced the time stroke patients enter the Emergency Department and are administered the clot-dissolving drug, TNK, leading to fewer instances of permanent disability. 

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Silver Cross Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. 

“Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a win for healthcare systems, families and communities.” 

The Midwest Institute for Neurosciences at Silver Cross Hospital offers a full continuum of exceptional stroke care. To learn more, visit silvercross.org