MVH Receives the 2021 Women's Choice Award® as One of America's Best Stroke Centers
Monongahela Valley Hospital has been named one of America's Best Stroke Centers by the Women's Choice Award®, America's trusted referral source for the best in healthcare. The award signifies that MVH is in the top 4% of the 4,542 U.S. hospitals offering stroke care services. Monongahela Valley Hospital is one of 459 award recipients representing the hospitals that have met the highest standards for stroke care in the U.S. by the Women's Choice Award.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five women in the United States will have a stroke in her lifetime. Nearly 60% of stroke deaths are in women, and stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer. Most alarming, studies show that women are more likely to be misdiagnosed for stroke even with the same symptoms as men.
"Timely diagnosis and effective care are critical to preventing disability and improving chances of recovery. The time to identify your community's leading hospital for stroke care is right now, not in the middle of a medical emergency when every minute is precious," said Delia Passi, founder and CEO of the Women's Choice Award. "We congratulate these hospitals and their dedication to education, prevention, and early intervention to reduce the devastating effects of stroke."
A stroke center must be certified by The Joint Commission Stroke Certification Program and/or Det Norske Veritas (DNV) as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and/or Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center to be considered for the award. Those with the Advanced Comprehensive designation receive additional credit. It is the only award recognizing excellence in stroke care based on robust criteria that consider patient satisfaction and clinical excellence. The methodology used to select MVH as one of America's Best Stroke Centers is unique in that it evaluates Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient survey results along with primary research about women's health care preferences. Hospitals must also score in the top 80% of all hospitals in the percent of patients receiving Head CT scan results within 45 minutes, and cannot have received a rating of Worse than the National Rate for the Deaths from Serious Treatable Complications measure.
"The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association encourages people to act F-A-S-T when they are experiencing the symptoms of a stroke which are defined as face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties and time," explained Louis J. Panza Jr., president and CEO of Monongahela Valley Hospital. "People in the mid-Monongahela Valley area with stroke symptoms can come to Monongahela Valley Hospital with the knowledge that they will receive care consistent with the latest scientific treatment guidelines from the medical professionals they know and trust."
In addition to the Women's Choice Award, MVH also received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and earned The Joint Commission's Certification for Primary Stroke Care Center.