CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs receives national award for stroke care

CHRISTUS Mother Francs Hospital – Sulphur Springs is being recognized for excellence in stroke care by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

The national award, Get With The Guidelines – Stroke, is given to hospitals who have demonstrated excellence in stroke care. The recognition was created to highlight the health care facilities providing the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines and quick recovery times.

CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs earned a gold plus distinction, indicating the hospital has met or exceeded standards for at least 24 months, and elite honor roll recognition, awarded for achieving a door-to-needle time of less than 60 minutes for at least 85% of stroke patients.

“Earning these awards provides confidence in the medical care CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital - Sulphur Springs provides for the community we serve,” said Kala Anders, stroke program coordinator. “Receiving these nationally recognized distinctions exemplifies our dedication to having a well-rounded multidisciplinary stroke team and program that serves our community and those surrounding.”

On average, every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke and every 3 minutes and 11 seconds, someone dies of stroke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S.

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or is blocked by a clot. When this happens, parts of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen needed, causing brain cells to die.

Anders said being able to react swiftly to a stroke is key to help minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death, emphasizing the access to stroke care for rural communities is vital.

“It’s a common assumption among rural communities in the country that to receive specialty care for things such as stroke, you need to go to large cities,” Anders said. “These recognitions solidify that exemplary clinical stroke care and evidence-based, innovative treatment can be and is being provided to the people in rural communities such as ours in Hopkins County.”