LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The American Heart Association recently honored five Baptist Health hospitals for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment based on nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

The AHA, along with its American Stroke Association division, recognized Baptist Health-Little Rock and Baptist Health-Fort Smith with the Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll.

Also receiving Get with the Guidelines awards were: Baptist Health-Conway, Stroke Gold Plus; Baptist Health-Arkadelphia, Stroke Gold; and Baptist Health-Hot Spring County, Stroke Silver.

• Gold Plus recipients have reached a goal of treating patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care for two consecutive calendar years, and have demonstrated 75 percent compliance to seven out of 10 stroke quality measures during a 12-month period.

• Gold recipients have reached a goal of treating patients with 85 or higher compliance to core standard levels of care for two consecutive calendar years.

• Silver recipients have reached a goal of treating patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care for one calendar year.

• Target: Stroke Honor Roll recipients have achieved time to intravenous thrombolytic therapy of less than or equal to 60 minutes in 50 percent or more of applicable ischemic stroke patients to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.

            Get With The Guidelines is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Research shows that someone in the U.S. suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds. Nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke annually.

Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 250 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community and over 100 primary and specialty care clinics in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. The system additionally offers a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere. Baptist Health, as the largest not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, provides care to patients wherever they are through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs. For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.