JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The North Dakota Stroke Taskforce recently recognized JRMC with the 2017 ND ASRH Quality Excellence Award. This award is given to critical access hospitals that demonstrate excellence in quality measures for stroke patients.

“It was really awesome and totally unexpected,” said Jenna Bredahl, JRMC quality & risk Manager. “This was a pleasant outcome that we did not see coming.”

Every critical access hospital in the state participates in the State Stroke Program. At the end of each month, the experience of each stroke patient is evaluated to be sure they are receiving appropriate and timely care.

Some measurements include:

Appropriate drugs are given in a timely matter
Anti-thrombotics are given to prevent further clotting
Atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) is treated
Wait time is as short as possible

In addition to the award, JRMC was recently granted with an Acute Stroke-Ready Hospital designation. This means JRMC meets the standards to support better outcomes for stroke care as part of a stroke system of care.

“All the kudos goes to the emergency and radiology departments,” Bredahl said. “They are the ones who are taking excellent care of these patients, identifying the strokes when they’re coming in and making sure these patients are having successful outcomes.”

“The ability to have Dr. Madhu Reddy in house, as a radiologist, not only allows our staff to show the emergency department doctors, but also allows for time-sensitive final interpretation from the radiologist, which is a key metric and component when it comes to caring for stroke patients,” shared Jason Schaffer, JRMC radiology manager. “We’re only one part of the team and each part has to be very integrated and in place for the entire team to run smoothly.”