Penn State Hershey recognized for high-level stroke care

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has recognized Penn State Hershey Medical Center for its high-level care of stroke patients. The Medical Center received the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for the sixth year in a row by meeting quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients.

The Medical Center also made the association's Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. People who suffer a stroke who receive the drug within three hours of the onset of symptoms may recover quicker and are less likely to suffer severe disability.

Penn State Hershey is one of only seven Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Pennsylvania, the only one in central Pennsylvania, and one of only 78 in the country.