$11.5 Million in New Support to the Greater Grady Campaign

Grady Health System today announced that the Greater Grady Campaign has secured $11.5 million in new donations. The contributions, from three well-known Atlanta-based companies and an anonymous donor, will help drive a five-year plan to modernize healthcare delivery at Grady, including necessary upgrades to equipment, information technology and facilities that will lay the groundwork for Grady to expand its life-saving services.

“We thank these four organizations for their generous support of the Greater Grady Campaign. Their support is a testament to the important role Grady plays in our region’s health care system and their belief that Grady is headed in the right direction,” said Tom Bell, chair of the Greater Grady Campaign and Chairman and CEO of Cousins Properties. “I think everyone involved with the Campaign is delighted with the success we’ve had so far.”

“The Greater Grady Campaign” received support from the following local donors: Anonymous: $5 million

· Georgia Power Company: $3 million

· Cox Enterprises: $2.5 million

· Georgia-Pacific: $1 million ">The Greater Grady Campaign kicked off in January 2009 following a generous $200 million lead gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. With the $11.5 million donations, the Campaign has raised $265 million toward the overall $325 million goal.

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Grady Health System Awarded Gold from the American Stroke Association

Grady Health System announced earlier this month that it has received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM–Stroke (GWTG¬Stroke) Gold Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Grady’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care for at least 24 months according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. Grady is situated in the heart of the stroke belt – an area in the southeastern United States that sees more strokes and stroke-related deaths than other parts of the country.

“With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG–Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time,” said Dr. Michael Frankel, Grady’s Chief of Neurology and the director of the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady. “Grady Health System has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.”

To receive the GWTG-Stroke Gold Performance Achievement Award, Grady demonstrated 85% adherence in the GWTG–Stroke key measures for 24 or more consecutive months. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation.

“The American Stroke Association commends Grady Health System for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee Member and director of the acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

GWTG¬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 GWTG–¬Stroke, customized patient education materials are made available at the point of discharge, based on patients’ individual risk profiles. The take-away materials are written in an easy-to-understand format and are available in English and Spanish. In addition, the GWTG Patient Management Tool provides access to up-to-date cardiovascular and stroke science at the point of care.

“The time is right for Grady to be focused on improving the quality of stroke care by implementing GWTG¬Stroke. The number of acute ischemic stroke patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow over the next decade due to increasing stroke incidence and a large aging population,” said Frankel, also a professor of Neurology at Emory University. According to the American Stroke Association (which is a division of the American Heart Association), each year approximately 700,000 people suffer a stroke — 500,000 are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent. Of stroke survivors, 21 percent of men and 24 percent of women die within a year, and for those aged 65 and older, the percentage is even higher.

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The Marcus Foundation Gives $20 Million to Grady Health System

/PRNewswire/ -- The Marcus Foundation today announced a $20 million gift to Grady Health System to improve emergency care to trauma and acute neurological injury victims throughout Georgia. The gift will enable Grady to expand hospital space for trauma and brain injury victims and improve time-dependent therapies for stroke and acute neurological emergencies. The new facilities will be named The Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady and The Marcus Trauma Center at Grady.

The project involves renovating existing hospital space to expand Grady's Trauma Center capacity from four to six dedicated trauma bays with the proper equipment, space, and resuscitation capacity to enhance life-saving patient care. Patients could then be transferred for two to ten days of care in a new 20-bed Neuro Intensive Care Unit. The funding will cover the cost of construction, equipment and recruitment of five key physicians to support the facilities.

"This gift provides us the capital to expand and modernize Grady's Trauma Center and build a new Neuro Intensive Care Unit in existing unused hospital space," said Grady President and CEO Michael Young. "These improvements will enable Grady to advance its already strong trauma care services and provide cutting-edge acute emergency care for traumatic brain injury and stroke patients. In addition to improving care, the Neuro ICU program's solid reimbursement rates should contribute greatly to Grady's ongoing fiscal sustainability."

"Grady will now be able to offer metro Atlanta a much needed 'go to' facility for neurological emergencies that operates 24 hours a day," said Bernie Marcus, chairman of the Marcus Foundation. "It is imperative to other hospitals and services throughout Atlanta and Georgia, including the Shepherd Center's Acquired Brain Injury Program and the Marcus Community Bridge Program, that Grady continues to be the leader in trauma and acute care, with the most skilled medical personnel and most updated equipment. And we hope this donation encourages others to make funding commitments to enable this facility to continue doing so much good for all those it touches."

"We have stressed for years how vital Grady is to healthcare here in metro Atlanta and across the state. I think this gift from the Marcus Foundation is recognition not only of Grady's current status but also of its remarkable potential," said A.D. "Pete" Correll, chairman of Grady Memorial Hospital Corp., which oversees Grady Health System. "Personally, I am touched by the magnitude of Bernie and Billi's gift and professionally, I look forward to seeing its impact on a team that has proven it can translate research findings to clinical outcomes."

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