Stroke Data, Awards and Certification

While hospitalized, patients’ immediate stroke symptoms were treated and diagnostic tests performed to determine the cause or source of the stroke. The goal is to prevent another stroke or neurovascular event.

Our expert team of specialists provides comprehensive stroke care, including identifying and managing secondary health issues. They are efficient in identifying and managing all associated neurovascular risk factors.

Get With The Guidelines^® Awards

For 2023, the Froedtert Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Center and the Primary Stroke Centers at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital and Froedtert West Bend Hospital all earned the Get With The Guidelines^® — Stroke GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll Elite Plus and Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award, (the highest level of recognition possible for a single, continuous 24-month period) from the American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines Program. The award recognizes commitment and success in implementing the highest standard of stroke care. See how we measure up according to these guidelines.

Get With The Guidelines — Stroke is a hospital-based initiative of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. It improves stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to the latest scientific treatment guidelines. Numerous published studies demonstrate the program's success in achieving measurable patient outcome improvements.

Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification

The Froedtert & MCW Stroke and Neurovascular Center earned the highest level of recognition – Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification – from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Our Stroke and Neurovascular Program was one of the first organizations in eastern Wisconsin to be awarded this designation. Froedtert Hospital was the first Primary Stroke Center — showing our continued commitment to stroke care.

Clot-Busting Drugs and Endovascular Therapy

Studies show that thrombolytic drugs (Alteplase - tPA or clot busters) or endovascular therapy (thrombectomy-clot removal), may effectively stop many strokes and improve patient outcomes if specialists trained in provide these treatments are immediately available. Froedtert Acute Stroke Team (FAST) physicians are specially trained to administer the clot-busting drugs and have been using this treatment successfully since it was approved by the FDA in 1996. This medication needs to be administered intravenously and is most effective if given as close to the time the stroke started as possible. Guidelines state that this drug should be given within 3 hours of stroke onset or within 4.5 hours for select patients to have benefit. It’s another reason to BE FAST when stroke symptoms occur.

We consistently treat a higher percentage of stroke patients with stroke-stopping thrombolytic therapy than the national average. If the patient arrives too late for TPA or if TPA is not appropriate for them and a clot is present, a procedure can be performed to remove the clot directly from inside the blood vessel. Less than five percent of hospitals across the country can perform these types of procedures. Our team has several neurointerventionalists that can perform endovascular procedures within the actual blood vessel using special devices to remove the clot. As of research released in 2018, these procedures can now be performed up to 24 hours after the onset of a stroke.