News

Cuero Regional Hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in June 2020 and was recently recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals 2021 publication. The recognition in the publication and the Gold Plus Achievement recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Cuero Regional Hospital earned the award in June by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“Cuero Regional Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Lynn Falcone, CEO of Cuero Health.

“The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes. We are thrilled to be recognized in the U.S. News & World Report once again for our achievement in this area.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

Judy Mazak, Emergency Department Director and Stroke Program Manager at Cuero Regional Hospital, shared that community education in recognizing stroke continues to be a priority for her department. “We appreciate the recognition in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals publication for our stroke program and work hard at educating the public whenever possible on the symptoms of stroke. The more proactive we can be to teach our community members to recognize stroke symptoms, the better we can serve our patients. Remember each minute counts and may mean the difference between recovery and disability, so act F.A.S.T.!” Mazak said.

Stroke Symptoms

Spot a stroke F.A.S.T.

FACE DROOPING
Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
ARM WEAKNESS
Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH DIFFICULTY
Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "the sky is blue." Is the sentence repeated correctly?
TIME TO CALL 9-1-1
If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get them to the hospital immediately.

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About Get With The Guidelines^®

Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform publisher of news and information, which includes www.usnews.com and annual print and e-book versions of its authoritative rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Hospitals. Visit www.usnews.com to learn more.