Ware, MA (November 14, 2011) - Baystate Mary Lane Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award.  The award recognizes Baystate Mary Lane Hospital’s 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.

“We are extraordinarily proud of this award,” said Lisa Beaudry, MPH, BSN, CNM, Director of Patient Care Services for Baystate Mary Lane, and attribute them to the collaborative efforts of our stroke team.  This team works together to ensure that we provide exceptional care to all of our patients,” she added, “and includes our physicians and nurses in the Emergency Department, the tele-Neurology group at Baystate Medical Center, our colleagues in Radiology, the Lab, Physical Therapy, our dietitian, and nurses on the patient care units and in Quality and Education.  Each member of the team has contributed in significant ways to this result.”

According to Mark Tuttle, RN, BSN, MA, Nurse Manager of the Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Emergency Room, “With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award demonstrates that our staff is committed to providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious, long-term disability in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.   Immediate assessment and treatment is critical to help improve outcomes.

Knowing the key signs and symptoms of stroke and calling 9-1-1 immediately can save a life. The F.A.S.T. acronym is an easy way to remember: 

• Face: Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile
• Arm: Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms
• Speech: Does the speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a phrase
• Time: If you observe these symptoms, call 9-1-1

For more information about Baystate Mary Lane Hospital visit Baystatehealth.org/bmlh.