SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon has been awarded the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Rural Recognition Bronze Award for its efforts to address the unique health needs of rural communities.
The Heart Association notes those who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than their 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.
The SSM Health Southern Illinois Regional Stroke Coordinator Mackenzie Castaneda says they are proud that their team at Good Samaritan Hospital is being recognized for the important work they do every day to improve the lives of people in Southern Illinois who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival.
“As a hospital in a rural community, we deal with characteristics, such as extended interfacility transportation times, and limited staffing resources. 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 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.
I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
