(Batesville, Ark) — 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] White River Health is committed to changing that.

For efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, White River Health (WRH) Emergency Services has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines^® - Stroke Rural Recognition Bronze award at Cherokee Village and Stone County Medical Center (SCMC), and the Silver award at White River Medical Center (WRMC).

The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, recognizes the importance of health care 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 White River Emergency Services is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in North Central Arkansas who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Steven Webb, President & CEO of WRH. “As a hospital in a rural community, we deal with characteristics, such as extended interfacility transportation times, and limited staffing resources. We've made it a goal to make sure those hurdles do not affect the standard of care our stoke patients receive.

“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 North Central Arkansas face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, co-author on the American Heart Association’s presidential advisory on rural health. White River Health has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

###

About White River Health:

White River Health (WRH) is an independent, not-for-profit healthcare system serving residents throughout North Central Arkansas. White River Health includes White River Medical Center in Batesville, Stone County Medical Center in Mountain View, outpatient facilities, primary care, and specialty physician office practices. WRH is a member of the Premier Alliance, the American Hospital Association, and the Arkansas Hospital Association and licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health.

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

 Posted 7/30/2025

[1] American Heart Association. American Heart Association issues call to action for addressing inequities in rural health. February 10, 2020. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/american-heart-association-issues-call-to-action-for-addressing-inequities-in-rural-health; American Heart Association. Public Health AmeriCorps to address health inequity in rural communities. April 6, 2022. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/public-health-americorps-to-address-health-inequity-in-rural-communities.

[2] Harrington R, et al. Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Circulation. 2020;141:e615–e644.