GREAT NECK, NY—The North Shore-LIJ Health System’s comprehensive stroke program received the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council’s (NSHC) 2009 Excellence in Patient Safety Award, the top honor, for distinguished achievement in patient safety and quality improvement. North Shore-LIJ finished first among 24 submissions to NSHC, the membership association that represents Long Island’s 24 not-for-profit and public hospitals.

The award honored North Shore-LIJ for implementing a stroke program among its tertiary and community hospitals and affiliated entities that ensures a uniform standard of care for patients, families and the communities the health system serves. A stroke task force comprised of neurologists, interventionists and nurses representing the health system’s individual hospitals, emergency response division, rehabilitation services and home care network collaborated to adopt and implement evidence-based protocols.

“This award demonstrates the incredible value of teams working toward a common goal.  In this case, 35 people from diverse medical specialties collaborated to improve patient care by creating a program whose components work to avoid potentially catastrophic outcomes for illness,” explained Kenneth J. Abrams, MD, the health system’s senior vice president of clinical operations.  “I am very proud of the task force members who gave their energy and expertise to this important work which has implications for other service lines.  Their efforts demonstrate just how success can be achieved when people work together.”

Dr. Abrams said the task force established a uniform methodology for performance measurement and improvement through participation in the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines”SM program, an evidence-based, in-hospital quality improvement program for stroke, coronary heart disease and heart failure care.

The multi-component program included nursing competencies for stroke care, educational teleconferences, physician continuing medical education (CME) programs, emergency medical services (EMS) educational sessions and community events. In keeping with North Shore-LIJ’s commitment to transparency, stroke performance measures were posted on the health system’s public website – www.northshorelij.com/quality.  In addition, clinicians worked with Press Ganey, the healthcare performance measurement and improvement organization, to create patient satisfaction reports with customized benchmarks specific to stroke patients.  A long-term outcomes project measuring treatment compliance and post-discharge functionality was created as well.

In addition to earning the top award for its comprehensive stroke program, the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council recognized the North Shore-LIJ Health System with an honorable mention for its standardized, health system-wide nursing orientation program, which promotes staff competencies to ensure quality and patient safety. In addition, North Shore University Hospital was acknowledged for its “Can We Talk?” program, an initiative that focuses on communication and patient safety.

About North Shore-LIJ Health System
The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, the North Shore-LIJ Health System cares for people of all ages throughout Long Island, Queens and Staten Island – a service area encompassing more than five million people. The health system consists of 14 hospitals, 17 long-term care facilities, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, three trauma centers, five home health agencies, a hospice network and dozens of outpatient centers. In addition, North Shore-LIJ is partnering with Hofstra University to develop a new medical school. North Shore-LIJ’s owned facilities house about 5,000 beds, employ about 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 7,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 38,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth largest in New York City.  For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com

Contact: Terry Lynam
516-465-2640/2600
tlynam@nshs.edu