CCH Recognized for Ongoing Efforts to Improve Rural Stroke Care

Central Carolina Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award for its ongoing efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural healthcare outcome disparities.

This award recognizes the efforts of hospitals nationwide to address the unique health needs of rural communities. People who live in rural areas live an average of three years fewer than their urban counterparts. They have a 40 percent higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30 percent increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades.

“Rural communities such as ours deserve high quality stroke care,” said Dave Santoemma, Chief Executive Officer of Central Carolina Hospital. “I'm proud of our team for their commitment to stroke care excellence and this achievement.”

Last year, CCH received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Bronze award.

“We are proud to be recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Lee County who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Sarah Ricks, RN, MSN, CPHRM, Director of Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management at CCH. “We work every day to improve the lives of people who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival.”

The American Heart Association award recognizes hospitals nationwide for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence as demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for:

• Intravenous thrombolytic therapy
• Timely hospital inter-facility transfers
• Dysphagia screening
• Symptom timeline and deficit assessment documentation
• Emergency medical services communication
• Brain imaging
• Stroke expert consultation

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

“Patients and health care professionals in Lee County face unique healthcare challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

“Central Carolina has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”