31/07/2025
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๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐
๐พ๐ช๐ด๐ฏ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ยฎ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
, ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
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๐บ๐ป๐ฌ๐ด๐ฐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐
Washington County Memorial Hospital has received triple Gold-level recognition from the American Heart Association, earning the highest achievable awards from AHAโs Get With The Guidelinesยฎ โ Stroke Rural Recognition Gold, Coronary Artery Disease Rural Recognition Gold, and STEMI Referring Center Gold. These awards offer recognition for WCMHโs commitment to offering rapid, research-based care to community members experiencing strokes and heart attacks.
The hospital achieved these prestigious Gold-level awards by meeting rigorous quality measures from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2024, demonstrating 24 consecutive months of excellence in cardiovascular care delivery despite challenges faced by rural healthcare facilities. Gold recognition represents the highest level of achievement possible, requiring sustained performance over two full years.
Each year, more than 1 million cases of acute coronary syndrome require hospitalization in the U.S., and about 30% are classified as STEMI, caused by complete blockage in a coronary artery. More critically for rural communities, people face a 30% increased risk for stroke mortality and live an average of three years fewer than urban counterparts. Both conditions require timely, evidence-based treatment to prevent further damage and save lives.
"When someone experiences a STEMI heart attack, American Heart Association guidelines call for specific actions performed in the hospital in a consistent and timely fashion to prevent further myocardial damage and to save lives," said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, co-author on the American Heart Association's presidential advisory on rural health. "Where you live should not determine if you live, and rural communities deserve high-quality cardiac care. Similarly, patients and health care professionals in rural areas face unique challenges and opportunities in stroke care. Washington County Memorial Hospital is recognized for consistently providing these patients with the care, guidance and medical therapy they need to give them the best chance of survival.
"The triple Gold-level recognition acknowledges the hospital's excellence across multiple dimensions of cardiovascular care, with a particular strength in acute stroke management. The Stroke Rural Recognition Gold award celebrates the hospital's achievement of at least 85% compliance across seven critical stroke quality measures for 24 consecutive months, including timely thrombolytic therapy for patients arriving within 3.5 hours, early antithrombotic therapy, VTE prophylaxis, appropriate discharge medications including anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation patients, smoking cessation counseling, and intensive statin therapy. The cardiac Gold awards recognize similar sustained excellence in heart attack care, including efficient transfer protocols and medication management.
"We are incredibly proud that our team is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in Washington County who experience heart attack and stroke," said Michele Meyer, CEO at Washington County Memorial Hospital. "As a hospital in a rural community, we deal with extended transfer times and limited staffing resources. We've made it a goal to make sure those hurdles do not affect the standard of care our patients receive."
In order to be recognized for excellence in stroke care protocols, WCMH had to achieve at least 85% compliance in seven critical stroke quality measures and maintain that level for two years to receive Gold-level recognition. The WCMH team not only did that, but they also met this rigorous standard for STEMI heart attacks. The team maintained at least 85% compliance for two years in cardiac care measures for STEMI events including rapid ECG administration, efficient transfer coordination, and comprehensive follow-up care protocols for patients.
"Effective and timely care is crucial for patients experiencing a STEMI heart attack," said Abhinav Goyal, M.D., MHS, FACC, FAHA, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Coronary Artery Disease System of Care Advisory Group.
About Washington County Memorial Hospital: Washington County Memorial Hospital is a critical access hospital serving Washington County and surrounding communities in southeast Missouri. Established in 1963, the hospital provides comprehensive healthcare services including emergency care, inpatient care, swing bed, and a variety of specialty outpatient care.
About Get With The Guidelinesยฎ Get With The Guidelinesยฎ is the American Heart Association's hospital-based quality improvement program providing hospitals with research-based guidelines. The program has touched the lives of more than 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
