A Joliet hospital recently received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award.

Saint Joseph Medical Center, a member of Prime Healthcare and a Comprehensive Stroke Center, received the award for its “commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines,” according to a news release from Prime Healthcare.

The hospital, equipped with sophisticated neurosurgical suites to treat stroke patients, now has a “new surgical C-arm as well as advanced neuro-mapping software for the neuro and stroke teams to perform brain surgery in the event of a significant stroke,” according to the release.

Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death and a major cause of disability in the U.S., according to the American Stroke Association.

“A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts (or ruptures),“ according to the American Stroke Association. ”When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it and brain cells die.”

Saint Joseph Medical Center also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite award “for meeting national benchmarks in timely thrombolytic therapy,” according to the release.

[ American Heart Association awards Silver Cross Hospital’s stroke program ]

The Joliet hospital also earned the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award “for ensuring stroke patients with diabetes receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care,” according to the release.

For more information, visit saintjosephmedicalcenter.com.