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Baxter Health has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Rural Recognition Gold award for its work on stroke care in the region.
The Gold level is the program’s highest recognition. It is based on how quickly and consistently a hospital meets early stroke treatment standards.
Those measures include clot-dissolving drug therapy, fast transfers between hospitals, swallowing screenings, brain imaging, documentation of when symptoms began, and consultation with stroke experts.
The award focuses on rural hospitals, which the American Heart Association says play a key role in getting timely care to people far from larger medical centers. People in rural communities live about three years fewer on average than those in cities, the association says, and face higher risks of heart disease and death from stroke.
Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States, according to the association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or a vessel ruptures, and brain cells begin to die within minutes. Quick treatment improves the odds of survival and recovery.
Rachel Gilbert, Baxter Health’s chief nursing officer, said the recognition shows staff across the hospital are working toward the same goal.
“This recognition reflects Baxter Health’s commitment to delivering exceptional, evidence-based stroke care so our patients receive the right treatment as quickly as possible when every minute matters,” Gilbert said.
Karen Joynt Maddox, who chairs the association’s Quality Oversight Committee and helped write its advisory on rural health, said Baxter Health had advanced care for patients in north central Arkansas.
