KDMC Urgent Care Center receives key certification

ASHLAND, Ky. — King’s Daughters Medical Center’s Ashland Urgent Care Center has been certified by the Urgent Care Association of America.

The center provides patients with walk-in, extended-hour medical attention with experienced physicians and nurse practitioners for a wide range of medical conditions.

The Ashland center has met all of the Urgent Care Association of America’s criteria for certification, and is the second center in Kentucky to do so.

KDMC’s Urgent Care Center fills the gap between the family doctor’s office and the emergency room, with convenient hours and a lower cost than an ER visit. The center is located at 2245 Winchester Ave. in Ashland, and is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The center’s staff can be reached by calling (606) 408-2600.

To be considered for certification, an Urgent Care Center must accept walk-in patients of all ages for a broad spectrum of medical conditions. They also must have on-site:

• X-ray and phlebotomy services

• a licensed provider who can obtain and read an EKG and X-ray

• ability to administer medication and fluids

• ability to perform minor procedures, such as suturing, cyst removal, incision and drainage, and splinting

The center also must have equipment and staff trained to use a wide variety of emergency medical devices, such as an automated external defibrillator (AED), and more.

Perry Township Trustees to meet Thursday

PERRY TOWNSHIP — The Perry Township Trustees will have their regular December meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Deering townhouse.

The meeting will be followed by the 2011 organizational meeting.

KDMC receives achievement award for stroke care

ASHLAND, Ky. — King’s Daughters Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes KDMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

To receive the Get With The Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award, King’s Daughters achieved at least 12 consecutive months of 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines Stroke Performance Achievement indicators and achieved at least 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines Stroke Quality Measures during that same period of time, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care.

These measures include aggressive use of medications along with education to reduce damage to a patient’s brain during a stroke and improving the lives of stroke patients.

Get With The Guidelines Stroke uses the “teachable moment,” the time soon after a patient has had a stroke, when they are most likely to listen to and follow their healthcare professionals’ guidance. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Through Get With The Guidelines Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. In addition, the Get With The Guidelines Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every three minutes; and 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.