FRMC awarded for efforts to improve rural stroke care

Frankfort Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award for efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural healthcare outcome disparities.

“We are proud that our team is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in the Frankfort area and surrounding communities who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said John Ballard, PhD, FACHE, chief executive officer at Frankfort Regional Medical Center. “Rural communities deserve high quality stroke care. I'm proud of our team for their commitment to stroke care excellence and this achievement.”

People who live in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease and face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality — a gap that has grown over the past two decades.^[1][2] Frankfort Regional Medical Center is committed to changing that.

The award from the American Heart Association recognizes hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence. This is demonstrated by high performance in 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.

For more information about stroke care at Frankfort Regional Medical Center