title: CVA (cerebrovascular accident) pathway cuts across seven hospital units.
abstract: After discovering that stroke patients were receiving care on 18 different units within the hospital, St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee developed its first cross-unit clinical pathway, targeted at cerebrovascular accident (CVA) patients. Implemented in October 1996, the five-day CVA pathway has cut length of stay by 1.6 days while maintaining a patient satisfaction rating of 94%. Nurse clinicians developed five key outcomes for the CVA pathway, including visits from speech therapy, a physiatry referral, a severity assessment, patient education, and patient consultation on the details of the discharge plan.
mesh_terms: D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D019091:Critical Pathways; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D009720:Nurse Clinicians; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D014922:Wisconsin