Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton Earns Honors from American Heart Association

UM Shore Regional Health recently was notified that UM Shore Medical Center at Easton’s Primary Stroke Center received the 2024 Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Award and Rural Stroke Award, which are quality achievement awards presented by the American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA). UM SRH’s Primary Stroke Center also is included in the AHA/ASA’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. This is the ninth consecutive year that UM SRH’s Primary Stroke Center has received the Stroke Gold Plus award. This is the first year that the AHA/ASA has awarded the Rural Stroke Award to hospitals.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton is a University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) facility; UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System. UM Shore Regional Health provides stroke care to approximately 600 patients every year.

These achievements highlight UM SRH’s commitment to providing the most effective stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence and its dedication to prioritizing quality care for stroke patients.

“These awards speak volumes for our UM Shore Regional Health and community emergency medical services teams. They are a significant achievement for any medical institution and show that UM Shore Regional Health and EMS provides state-of-the-art, patient-centered stroke care for our communities,” said Rena Sukhdeo Singh, MD, Medical Director of the Primary Stroke Center. “We are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for our dedication to helping patients have the best possible chance of survival and recovery following a stroke. Our dedicated team members and members of community emergency response teams throughout the region deserve recognition for these awards, including EMS providers, our Emergency Department team members, our stroke coordinator, our Brain Attack Team, the nurses on our neurology/telemetry unit and our radiology, pharmacy and laboratory teams. It is a coordinated effort that requires a collaborative approach and offers our communities the most advanced stroke care for our region.”

To honor team members and departments who play a key role in working with the Primary Stroke Center, members of the senior leadership team and other UM SRH stroke care leaders delivered the good news and ice cream to several departments, including the Intensive Care Unit, Radiology, Laboratory, Pharmacy, and the Telemetry and Emergency departments.

According to the American Heart Association, in 2021, heart disease and stroke claimed more lives in the United States than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined. Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the United States, following coronary heart disease. Stroke claimed the lives of 162,890 Americans in 2021, which is 1 in every 21 deaths.

UM Shore Medical Center at Easton was designated as a Primary Stroke Center in 2007. A Primary Stroke Center designation is given by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems when standards are met to support better outcomes for stroke care. Certification standards include having a dedicated program staffed 24/7 by specially trained medical professionals who provide fast diagnostic services and optimal stroke care.

Additional information about the Primary Stroke Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton can be found at UMShoreRegional.org/stroke.