Coliseum Medical Centers was recently given an Award for Excellence by the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry (GCASR) at the 2019 Georgia Stroke Conference.  The award was presented for having the highest proportion of eligible patients with a door-to-needle time less than 45 minutes among hospitals with similar bed size (301-499 beds). Door-to-needle times represent the time it takes for a stroke patient to receive the clot busting drug, tPA after arrival to the hospital. The American Stroke Association recommends a door to needle time of 60 minutes or less. Coliseum Northside Hospital also received an Award for Excellence for having shown the highest proportion of patients with a door-to-imaging time less than twenty-five minutes. Door-to-imaging time is the time it takes for a patient to receive a CT scan. Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital were the only two middle Georgia hospitals who received awards at the conference.

Sourabh Lahoti, MD, Neurologist at Coliseum Medical Centers, said, “Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital continue to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients.  Our stroke team is dedicated to care that is timely and effective in order to save lives and improve outcomes. I am incredibly proud of our team for doing the work that is needed to receive an importance designation such as this.” 

In addition, Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital have been named a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.  Coliseum Medical Centers has also received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award for the last nine years. According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is the number five cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States.  In 2017, Georgia had the 8^th highest stroke death rate in the U.S., with 19% of those deaths being among persons under the age of 65. 

Recently, stroke has been widely discussed in the news following the death of 52-year old actor Luke Perry. Dr. Lahoti said, “In many of the interviews about Perry’s death, physicians have stressed the importance of being treated at an accredited stroke facility that is capable of identifying a stroke and treating it within the recommended door-to-needle time.  Coliseum has repeatedly been recognized for their ability to effectively treat stroke patients and that is good news for residents of middle Georgia.”