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Claiborne Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guideline Rural Stroke Bronze quality achievement award for its effort to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities. 

People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts, 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. 

The American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations recognize the importance of health care services provided to those living in rural areas by rural hospitals, as they play a vital role in the initiation of timely, evidence-based care. The Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke award recognizes eligible organizations that use a unique methodology focused on early acute stroke performance metrics.

“I am so proud of our Claiborne Medical Center team for being recognized for the work they do every day to care for our patients, and for their efforts to improve the lives of those patients and families affected by stroke,” said Patti Ketterman, president and chief administrative officer of Claiborne Medical Center. “As a rural hospital, it can sometimes be difficult to overcome hurdles like extended interfacility transportation times and other barriers, and our Claiborne team works with our other Covenant Health hospitals to ensure that our patients get the care they need.”

The Stroke Rural Bronze quality achievement 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 the Tazewell area face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association. “Claiborne Medical Center has furthered this important work to improve are for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

Claiborne Medical Center is located in Tazewell, Tennessee, and is a member of Covenant Health, a community-owned health system providing comprehensive services in Tennessee. Claiborne Medical Center’s mission is to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health. For more information about Claiborne Medical Center, please visit CovenantHealth.com/Claiborne.

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 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.