5 SEPTEMBER 2025

Florence, SC — McLeod Regional Medical Center, McLeod Health Loris and McLeod Health Seacoast were recently recognized by the American Heart Association’s 2025 Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Quality Achievement Awards for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. 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.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

“McLeod is committed to improving patient care,” said Dr. Ravish Kothari, Medical Director of Stroke Services at McLeod Regional Medical Center. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to apply proven knowledge and guidelines on a daily basis, which studies show can improve patient recovery. The end goal is to ensure more people in our region can live longer, healthier lives.”

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.

McLeod Regional Medical Center also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

McLeod Health Loris and McLeod Health Seacoast also recently received recertification affirming the hospitals are equipped to provide care to patients with acute stroke symptoms who seek life-saving treatment at the emergency departments. The certification, granted by DNV GL Healthcare, designates them as Acute Stroke Ready.

These McLeod Health hospitals were some of the first in the state of South Carolina to become Acute Stroke Ready by DNV, a certification body that helps hospitals achieve excellence by improving quality and safety through hospital accreditation.

McLeod Regional Medical Center is certified as a Primary Stroke Center by DNV and was the first hospital in the region to earn this designation in 2014.

“This certification is an acknowledgement to our communities that we have the resources and commitment to provide the best possible stroke care,” said Dr. Olinda Spencer, Stroke Medical Director for McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Loris. “It is a combination of the right equipment, personnel and training to quickly assess and treat strokes. As Acute Stroke Ready hospitals and a Primary Stroke Center, we have the ability to administer the main treatment for an Ischemic stroke, a thrombolytic medication Tenecteplase, which breaks up clots. The benefits of Tenecteplase are time-dependent and should be administered as quickly as possible. The window of opportunity for giving the medication is four and half hours after the onset of a stroke.

“Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States and fifth leading cause of death. One third of all patients have their first stroke prior to age 65. This is why the exceptional stroke care we provide for our patients and improving the care overall for our community is so crucial,” explained Dr. Spencer.

The DNV Acute Stroke Ready (ASR) Certification is based on standards set forth by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association and affirms that the medical centers address the full spectrum of stroke care – diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and education – and establish clear metrics to evaluate outcomes.

Acute Stroke Ready hospitals are designed to be part of a larger stroke system of care. For any stroke patient needing ongoing care after the initial treatment that care would be provided within the McLeod Health system at the Primary Stroke Center, McLeod Regional Medical Center.

Committed to the care of the stroke patient, McLeod Regional Medical Center also opened the first Stroke Unit in the region in 2000, a unit dedicated exclusively to the treatment and care of patients who have suffered a stroke. The unit has since been expanded to a Neuroscience Care Unit to combine postoperative neurosurgery, thrombectomy and coiling patients with stroke patients in one location to be able to deliver comprehensive care.

According to the National Stroke Association, stroke kills nearly 130,000 people each year. Because stroke or “brain attack” effects blood flow to the brain, rapid and effective treatment can save lives and provide the best chance of limiting the extent of long-term damage.

It is essential to help prevent a stroke from occurring by seeking medical treatment quickly at the first onset of symptoms. Everyone should be able to recognize stroke symptoms and act quickly.

“It is a team effort beginning with Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMS pre-alerts the Emergency Department so the Stroke Team can be waiting on the patient when they arrive,” said Dr. Kothari.

 

Common stroke symptoms in both men and women include:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg — especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Every minute counts for stroke patients. B.E. F.A.S.T. can lead patients to the stroke treatments they desperately need.

If you think someone may be having a stroke, remember the acronym B.E. F.A.S.T. and do this simple test:

B-BALANCE: Does the person have a loss of balance?
E-EYES: Have they lost vision in one or both eyes?

F-FACE: Does one side of the face droop?                                   
A-ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S-SPEECH: Is their speech slurred or strange?
T-TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

If you or a loved one experience any of these symptoms it should prompt you to realize that you may be having a stroke. Once symptoms start it is crucial to get treatment as quickly as possible to make it less likely that any damage becomes permanent. Call 911 and get to the nearest emergency department.