Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) Primary Stroke Center Medical Director Naveed Ahmed, MD, accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award at the International Stroke Conference in Hawaii, on behalf of the hospital. Together, with American Heart/American Stroke Association Quality and Systems Improvement Director Cynthia Keely, they presented the award to CEO Donovan Blackburn and the PMC Board of Directors.
This award recognizes the stroke team performance achievement in the Get With the Guidelines Stroke Quality Improvement program. PMC has maintained the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement status for the last six years. To achieve this award, PMC had to meet seven performance achievement measures of high level compliance and sustain them over a two-year period. PMC also received the ‘Plus’ distinction which means the hospital was successful in five additional measures of compliance.
“It takes a highly gifted and skilled team to improve stroke care here at Pikeville Medical Center,” Keely stated. “This hospital has been consistently awarded since the program began here in 2009.”
Keely went on to explain what the award actually means for patient care.
“The level of achievement by PMC translates into saving more lives,” explained Keely. “Meeting and exceeding all these quality improvement measures means that patients are receiving the necessary stroke care and treatment within the time frame needed to make a real difference in recovery.”
Dr. Ahmed thanked Blackburn and the board for their support of the Stroke Program. He also applauded the Stroke Team for the dedication to provide quality care to stroke patients each day.
“It was an honor to represent PMC at such a prestigious conference and an even greater honor to share this award with Donovan and the Board of Directors today,” said Dr. Ahmed. “This award is not only a celebration of the hospital, but a celebration for the patients who are receiving this excellent care and have a higher quality of life because of what you all do.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth most common 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.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Ahmed, please call 606-430-2208 or visit his page on this site.
