St. Joseph Mercy Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia earn national recognition for efforts to improve stroke care

The American Heart Association also presents hospitals with cardiovascular awards for treatment of diabetes

PONTIAC and Livonia, Mich. (Sept. 29, 2021) – St. Joseph Mercy Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia have received Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS Awards from the American Heart Association for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

"When you look at our hospital's response and all the various teams and departments involved in a stroke patient's care, it's remarkable how coordinated and efficient we have become, to be able to intervene as quickly as we do to significantly reduce the likelihood of death and long-term disability," said Shannon Striebich, president of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the United States suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines-Stroke was developed to assist health care professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.

"In a community like Livonia, where we serve an aging population, to be able to offer world-class stroke care is a blessing and has made a tremendous impact in the lives of those families whose loved ones we have saved," said Dave Spivey, president of St. Mary Mercy Livonia.

Each year participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.

Additionally, both St. Joe's Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia received the American Heart Association's Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, the two hospitals met high-quality measures with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”

St. Joe's Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia sister hospital Mercy Health Saint Mary's in Grand Rapids was also recognized as a Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll Elite Plus and Advanced Therapy.

About Get With The Guidelines^®

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 548-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 497-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 66-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,548 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $2 billion and returns about $115 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.