Baxter Health recognized for advancing rural stroke care

For its efforts to optimize stroke care and reduce gaps in rural health outcomes, Baxter Health has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Gold award.

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, according to an American Heart Association’s presidential advisory on rural health. Baxter Health is committed to changing that.

Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death and also a leading cause of disability in the U.S, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain is blocked by a clot or ruptures, preventing blood and oxygen from reaching brain tissue. When this happens, brain cells begin to die. Early detection and rapid treatment are critical to improving survival, minimizing disability and supporting faster recovery.

The American Heart Association recognizes the importance of health care services provided to people living in rural areas by rural hospitals that play a vital role in initiation of timely evidence-based care. For that reason, all rural hospitals participating in Get With The Guidelines - Stroke are eligible to receive award recognition based on a unique methodology focused on early acute stroke performance metrics.

According to Rachel Gilbert, Chief Nursing Officer, receiving the highest level of this award (Gold recognition) shows that everyone involved in patient care at Baxter Health is 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,” she said. “I'm incredibly proud of and grateful to our physicians, nurses, EMS partners, and support teams whose dedication and collaboration made this achievement possible.”

This recognition goes to hospitals for their commitment to acute stroke care excellence, demonstrated through performance on guideline-directed measures including 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.

“Patients and health care professionals in north central Arkansas face unique healthcare challenges and opportunities,” Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, chair of the American Heart Association Quality Oversight Committee and co-author on the Association’s advisory on rural health said. “Baxter Health has advanced the important work of improving care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”