Navarro Regional Hospital Awarded for Efforts to Improve Rural Stroke Care

8/19/2024

The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award 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 their urban counterparts, 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.[1],[2] Navarro Regional Hospital is committed to changing that.

For efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, Navarro Regional has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award.

The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, recognizes the importance of healthcare services provided to people living in rural areas by rural hospitals that play a vital role in initiating 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.

“We are proud that our team at Navarro Regional is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Navarro county who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said John Manolakis, CEO of Navarro Regional Hospital. “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.”

[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.

[2] 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.

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