Memorial Hospital Stone County is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care
Wiggins, Mississippi — August 14, 2024 — Memorial Hospital Stone County has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Silver Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
Additionally, Memorial Hospital Stone County has received the Get With The Guidelines® – Rural Stroke Silver award, which recognizes efforts to address the unique health needs of rural communities. People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades. Memorial Hospital Stone County is committed to changing that.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and accelerating recovery times.
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research – and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
“We are proud that our team at Memorial Hospital Stone County is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Stone County who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Memorial Health System Vice President of Operations Kevin Holland. “As a hospital in a rural community, we deal with many challenges to ensure the patients we serve have the best possible health care that we can offer. We’ve made it a goal to make sure those hurdles do not affect the standard of care our stroke patients receive. Rural communities deserve high-quality stroke care. I’m proud of our team for their commitment to stroke care excellence and this achievement.”
The Get With The Guidelines® – Rural Stroke Silver award recognizes hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for intravenous thrombolytic therapy, timely hospital inter-facility transfer, dysphagia screening, symptom timeline and deficit assessment documentation, emergency medical services communication, brain imaging and stroke expert consultation.
Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Memorial Hospital Stone County for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
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ABOUT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL STONE COUNTY
Memorial Stone County is a 25-bed acute care hospital that offers 24-hour emergency care and is staffed by Board Certified Emergency Medicine physicians. This hospital is equipped with inpatient physicians, a full-service laboratory staffed 24/7, and a radiology department using state-of-the-art equipment. In addition to the hospital, Memorial has two multispecialty centers located in Wiggins – Memorial Stone County Multispecialty and Memorial Physician Clinics Primary Care and Multispecialty Wiggins. Visit wearememorial.com to learn more.
ABOUT GET WITH THE GUIDELINES®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
[1] American Heart Association. American Heart Association issues call to action for addressing inequities in rural health. February 10, 2020. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/american-heart-association-issues-call-to-action-for-addressing-inequities-in-rural-health; American Heart Association. Public Health AmeriCorps to address health inequity in rural communities. April 6, 2022. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/public-health-americorps-to-address-health-inequity-in-rural-communities. [1] Harrington R, et al. Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Circulation. 2020;141:e615–e644.