OhioHealth Marion General Hospital Wins Award Recognizing Efforts to Improve Local Stroke Care
OhioHealth Marion General Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Rural Stroke Silver achievement award. This award recognizes hospitals that are committed to optimizing stroke care and eliminating rural health care outcome disparities.
According to the American Heart Association, people who live in rural communities live an average of three years less than those living in urban areas and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease. They also face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades.
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 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.
“We are proud that our team at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Marion County and surrounding areas who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Jim Parobek, president of Marion General Hospital. “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.
“Patients and health care professionals in and around Marion County face unique health care 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, Missouri. “OhioHealth Marion General Hospital has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”
This year, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital has also been presented with the following American Heart Association recognitions:
1. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus
2. Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite
3. Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
To achieve this recognition, Marion General Hospital demonstrated its commitment to providing quality care for stroke patients by following treatment guidelines and educating patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home. To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy. 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 due to stroke.
This is the 10th year OhioHealth Marion General Hospital has received a Gold Level recognition award from the AHA Get With The Guidelines Program.
About OhioHealth
Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare outreach of the United Methodist Church.
Serving its communities since 1891, OhioHealth is a family of 35,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 15 hospitals, three joint-venture hospitals, one managed-affiliate hospital, 200+ ambulatory sites and other health services spanning a 50-county area. For more information, visit ohiohealth.com.
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for a century. During 2024 - our Centennial year - we celebrate our rich 100-year history and accomplishments. As we forge ahead into our second century of bold discovery and impact our vision is to advance health and hope for everyone, everywhere. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
About Get With The Guidelines
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. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
