Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi 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, leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a top cause of disability in the United States. 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.

“Baptist North Mississippi is committed to providing quality stroke and heart care for all our

patients,” said Brian Welton, administrator and CEO of Baptist North Mississippi. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to access and implement proven knowledge and guidelines on a daily basis, which helps patients recover better. The ultimate goal is to ensure more people in Oxford experience longer, healthier lives.”

Each year, program participants qualify for the Get With The Guidelines 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 Baptist North Mississippi for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Dr. Steven Messe, 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.”

Baptist North Mississippi also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized because of stroke.

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.

For more information, visit heart.org.