FREMONT – Dunklau Gardens will participate in the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Stroke Post-Acute Care (PAC) initiative to enhance guideline-based care for stroke patients, ultimately improving and prolonging lives.
Evidence-based rehabilitation and secondary prevention interventions improve recovery after a stroke and reduce secondary complications. However, stroke rehabilitation expertise, processes of care and educational resources vary among sites where PAC is delivered. The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, developed quality standards based on its 2016 Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery to address these gaps.
“We’re committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest guidelines,” said Jayma Brown, BSN, RN, MHA, NE-BC, director of long-term care nursing at Dunklau Gardens. “The post-acute care standards initiative makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure that more people in Dodge County and the surrounding areas can experience longer, healthier lives.”
Facilities participating in the PAC standards initiative receive a participation stipend and site-specific quality improvement support and process improvement ideas surrounding quality standards for stroke recovery, rehabilitation and secondary prevention. Facilities also have the opportunity to be part of a learning collaborative, working with experts in stroke rehabilitation to build tools and share and create best practices. Participation improves collaboration between PAC facilities and others involved in stroke care, including hospitals and outpatient providers.
Participation in the program benefits stroke patients and caregivers with the knowledge that the facility is committed to providing services supported by American Heart Association science. They also have the assurance that the facility is collaborating with the association on standardizing its stoke rehabilitation program in alignment with expert guidance and evidence-based research.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
Mission: Lifeline Stroke is the American Heart Association’s community-based initiative to develop systems of care to improve outcomes for stroke patients. Made possible with a $1.5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the PAC initiative will implement the newly developed American Heart Association Post-Acute Stroke Care Quality Standards program in rehabilitation facilities across Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota. The initiative has a goal of giving all patients the best chance at independent lives after stroke.
This work builds on the Mission: Lifeline Stroke Nebraska initiative launched in 2019. The new initiative is the first to implement the Post-Acute Stroke Care Quality Standards program developed and tested in Montana. Larger rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and critical access hospitals in rural and urban areas are eligible to participate.
