Pittsburgh, PA (October 14, 2009) – Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) ranks among the top 10 percent of U.S. medical centers for the treatment of stroke, according to a comprehensive study released by HealthGrades, a leading independent healthcare ratings organization. The HealthGrades study annually assesses patient outcomes – mortality and complication rates – at virtually all of the nation’s nearly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals.

As a result, Allegheny General received the 2010 HealthGrades Stroke Care Excellence Award™ and a 5-Star stroke treatment rating for the third consecutive year.

“Designations of clinical excellence from organizations such as HealthGrades are extremely gratifying because they reaffirm to stroke patients and their families the exceptional level of care they can expect at Allegheny General Hospital,” said Ashis Tayal, MD, Director of the hospital’s Comprehensive Stroke Program.

According to the twelfth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study, top-rated hospitals had a 52 percent lower mortality rate than the U.S. national average when looking at the patient outcomes of 17 procedures and diagnoses ranging from bypass surgery to treatment for heart attack. When the top-rated hospitals were compared to the poorest performers, there was an even greater difference, 72 percent lower mortality.

“Stroke can be a devastating injury and patients clearly benefit from being treated at a medical center that not only offers around-the-clock-access to the most experienced stroke specialists, but to the complete spectrum of advanced stroke treatment options,” said David Wright, MD, Director of the AGH Inpatient Stroke Unit.

In addition to Drs. Tayal and Wright, AGH’s stroke program is also staffed by stroke neurologist Jon Brillman, MD, who is chairman of the hospital’s Department of Neurology and a longtime regional leader in stroke care. Other key components of the program include some of the region’s foremost specialists in the fields of neurosurgery, interventional neuro-radiology, nursing, cardiology and rehabilitation.

In 2007, Allegheny General opened the region’s first dedicated inpatient Stroke Unit that centralizes and coordinates the care of stroke patients by the hospital’s multidisciplinary stroke team. Though still the only facility of its kind in the region, such inpatient programs have been associated with better patient outcomes and are now a Class I Recommendation for comprehensive stroke centers by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

Interventional neuro-radiologists at AGH have been at the forefront of using new devices and techniques to remove blood clots and rapidly restore blood flow to the brain, extending the critical window of treatment for stroke patients and improving outcomes.

The third consecutive 5-Star rating from HealthGrades is the latest in a long line of stroke treatment accolades earned by AGH.

The hospital has been designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission since 2006 and was recently named a Stroke Center of Excellence in a national survey conducted by Chicago-based healthcare think tank, NeuStrategy. AGH also has received the American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines—Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award, recognizing the Hospital’s commitment to providing patients with ongoing medical treatment for at least 24-months following a stroke.

More than 1,000 stroke patients are admitted to AGH annually.

HealthGrades rates hospitals independently based on data that hospitals submit to the federal government. No hospital can opt in or out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated. The new 2010 HealthGrades hospital ratings is posted at www.healthgrades.com.

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