Only Academic Medical Center in Illinois to Win Prestigious Award
MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Loyola University Health System is the only academic medical center in Illinois to win the American Stroke Association's 2008 Gold Performance Achievement Award.
The award is given to hospitals that have demonstrated at least 85 percent adherence to stroke guidelines for at least 24 consecutive months. These measures include aggressive use of clot-busting drugs, blood thinners, anticoagulation therapy, cholesterol-reducing drugs and smoking cessation.
Loyola's Stroke Center has nationally recognized experts in fields related to stroke care, including emergency medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, neuroradiology, stroke rehabilitation, social work, nutrition and specialty nursing. Loyola provides specialized stroke care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The first three hours after a stroke are critical. Loyola's emergency stroke team uses MRIs, PET scans and other tests and procedures to quickly determine the best treatment. "When a stroke occurs, every second counts," said Loyola stroke specialist Dr. Jose Biller. "Time is brain. The faster we can diagnose and treat patients, the better the outcome." Biller is chairman of the Department of Neurology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Once a patient has received emergency treatment and is stable, Loyola's stroke program provides physical, occupational and speech therapy to help a patient achieve the best possible quality of life.
Loyola is a nationally recognized center of excellence for heart and vascular care. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Loyola's heart program as one of the best in the country.
Loyola also is the only Illinois hospital to be named to the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmark Award list of the nation's top teaching hospitals with cardiovascular programs.
###
Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, Loyola University Health System is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 25 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 570-licensed bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Health & Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 250-bed community hospital, the Gottlieb Health & Fitness Center and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.
Loyola University Health System (LUHS) is a member of Trinity Health. Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, LUHS is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and more than 30 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-licensed-bed community hospital, the Professional Office Building housing 150 private practice clinics, the Adult Day Care, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness, Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care and the Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center at Melrose Park.