Three Rivers Hospital receives gold award for rural stroke care

BREWSTER — Three Rivers Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Rural Recognition Gold award for its efforts to improve stroke treatment and emergency care in rural communities.

The recognition, announced Oct. 14, acknowledges the hospital’s performance in providing timely, evidence-based stroke care to patients in south Okanogan County, north Douglas County and the Methow Valley.

The award is part of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program, which helps hospitals implement research-based treatment standards to improve patient outcomes.

Rural hospitals face particular challenges in treating stroke patients, including limited staffing, longer transportation distances and delays in accessing specialized medical services.

“We are proud that our team at Three Rivers Hospital is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in South Okanogan County, North Douglas County and Methow Valley, who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Tina Smith, chief nursing officer.

“As a hospital in a rural community, we face challenges such as extended interfacility transportation times and limited staffing resources. We have made it a priority to ensure those challenges never compromise the standard of care our stroke patients receive. Rural communities deserve high-quality stroke care. I’m proud of our team’s commitment to stroke care excellence and this achievement.”

The Gold award recognizes hospitals for meeting performance measures related to acute stroke treatment. Those measures include administering intravenous clot-dissolving medications, completing timely transfers between hospitals, screening patients for swallowing difficulties and documenting stroke symptoms and neurological assessments.

Additional measures include communication with emergency medical services, brain imaging and consultation with stroke specialists.

According to the American Heart Association, rural residents face a 30% higher risk of death from stroke than their urban counterparts. Rural residents also have a 40% greater likelihood of developing heart disease and live an average of three years fewer than people in urban communities.

Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of disability, according to the association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted by a blockage or ruptured blood vessel. Rapid diagnosis and treatment can reduce brain damage, improve survival rates and limit long-term disability.

The American Heart Association developed its rural stroke recognition program to evaluate how effectively participating hospitals provide initial emergency stroke care, particularly in communities where access to specialized treatment may be limited.

“Patients and health care professionals in south Okanogan County, north Douglas County, and Methow Valley, face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, chair of the American Heart Association Quality Oversight Committee and co-author on the Association’s advisory on rural health. “Three Rivers Hospital has advanced the important work of improving care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

The hospital's emergency department has now received two Gold award certificates for rural stroke care.

Get With The Guidelines is a quality improvement initiative operated by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The program has reached more than 18 million patients nationwide since its establishment in 2001.