Highmark Foundation Awards $145,000 Grant To St. Joseph Medical Center

Grant Dollars Will Increase Level Of Care At New Stroke Center

October 30, 2009

Camp Hill — Delivering the best stroke patient care is a developing health issue, as approximately 750,000 people in the United States experience a new or recurrent stroke each year. Strokes have become the third leading cause of death in Pennsylvania and are a primary cause of adult disability.

In order to better meet the needs of a growing population of stroke patients at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pa., the hospital is working toward becoming a certified primary stroke center.

A recent Highmark Foundation grant of $145,000 will assist St. Joseph Medical Center's efforts to obtain a level of standard practice at the new stroke center through the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The grant will support the implementation of a stroke screening and prevention program to help St. Joseph Medical Center work toward the goal of achieving certification as a Stroke Center of Excellence.

The program, Get With The Guidelines-Stroke, aides in the ability to identify, treat and care for hospital inpatients and communities at risk for stroke.

"According to a study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, hospitals that participate in the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program are providing proof that hundreds of thousands of stroke patients are receiving improved care," said Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation. "We have to do our best to prevent and treat strokes; and through the Highmark Foundation's support, stroke patients at the St. Joseph Medical Center will receive the upmost quality in care and service for their needs."

The implementation of the stroke center in Berks County will help to provide the best clinical stroke care and help St. Joseph Medical Center be fully prepared for the potential increase in stroke patients.

About the Highmark Foundation
The Highmark Foundation, created in 2000 as an affiliate of Highmark Inc., is a charitable organization and a private foundation that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The foundation's mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in the Pennsylvania communities served by Highmark Inc. The foundation awards two types of grants: Highmark Healthy High 5, which includes a focus on the health and well-being of children in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, self-esteem, bullying and grieving; and its traditional four areas of general health focus, which include chronic disease, communicable disease, family health and service delivery systems. Where possible, the foundation looks to support evidence-based programs that impact multiple counties and work collaboratively to leverage additional funding to achieve replicable models. For more information about the Highmark Foundation, visit www.highmark.com.

About Highmark
Highmark is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.