Academic Health in Action: OU Health Recognized for Excellence in Stroke Care, Research and Education

As Oklahoma’s leading academic health system, OU Health has earned national recognition — including the Gold Plus award— from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for excellence in stroke care through the Get With The Guidelines® program, in addition to multiple Honor Roll distinctions for rapid response, advanced therapies and diabetes management in stroke care.

These awards reflect OU Health’s commitment to delivering evidence-based treatment that meets or exceeds national benchmarks. Specifically, OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center was recognized on the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus for fast, effective stroke intervention; the Advanced Therapy Honor Roll for excellence in providing complex stroke treatments; and the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll for improving outcomes in stroke patients with diabetes.

"This recognition reflects our unwavering dedication to providing world-class stroke care to our patients," said neurologist and Comprehensive Stroke Center Director Dr. Evgeny Sidorov, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chief of the Section of Vascular and Inpatient Neurology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. "Our team's commitment to following evidence-based protocols and continuously improving our care delivery ensures that stroke patients receive the best possible treatment outcomes."

The Get With The Guidelines® program helps hospitals and health systems ensure that stroke patients receive timely, research-based treatments that align with national standards. The program emphasizes adherence to quality measures that have been proven to reduce death and disability and improve long-term health outcomes.

OU Health’s distinction in stroke care stems from its robust academic model, where clinical excellence, groundbreaking research and advanced education converge to deliver the highest level of patient care. As the University of Oklahoma’s academic health system, OU Health leverages its unique position to recruit and train the region’s only dual-trained neurosurgeons who bring expertise in complex cerebrovascular conditions.

These specialists work alongside a multidisciplinary team of fellowship-trained vascular neurologists, neurocritical care experts, cardiologists, vascular surgeons and neuroradiologists to deliver rapid, evidence-based treatment that consistently meets or exceeds national standards.

The recent awards from the Get With The Guidelines® program highlight not just OU Health’s commitment to quality, but also its leadership in advancing stroke care through research and education.

OU Health’s participation in national and international clinical trials ensures that patients benefit from the latest therapies and innovations. At the same time, its role as an academic health system means that new generations of physicians and healthcare workers are trained in state-of-the-art stroke protocols, further amplifying OU Health’s impact by shaping best practices that extend across Oklahoma and influence care across the state and region.

An integrated approach where research, education and clinical care reinforce one another ensures the most advanced stroke treatments are readily available to patients across the region and beyond.

For more information about the Get With The Guidelines® Quality Awards, please visit Heart.org/GWTGQualityAwards.