Pinckneyville Community Hospital Recognized for Advancing Rural Stroke Care

The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award recognizes efforts to address the unique health needs of rural communities

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, according to an American Heart Association’s presidential advisory on rural health. Pinckneyville Community Hospital is committed to changing that.

For its efforts to optimize stroke care and reduce gaps in rural health outcomes, Pinckneyville Community Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Rural Recognition Silver award.

Stroke is the No. 4 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain is blocked by a clot or ruptures, preventing blood and oxygen from reaching brain tissue. When this happens, brain cells begin to die. Early detection and rapid treatment are critical to improving survival, minimizing disability and supporting faster recovery.

The American Heart Association 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 honored to have the dedication and hard work of the Pinckneyville Community Hospital team recognized for the difference we make every day in the lives of Perry County residents impacted by stroke,” said Eva Hopp, Chief Nurse Executive. “Providing stroke care in a rural community comes with unique challenges, including longer interfacility transportation times and limited staffing resources. However, we are committed to ensuring these challenges do not affect the quality of care our stroke patients receive. People living in rural communities deserve access to exceptional stroke care, and I am incredibly proud of our team for their continued commitment to excellence and for achieving this recognition.”

This recognition goes to hospitals for their commitment to acute stroke care excellence, demonstrated through performance on guideline-directed measures including 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 Perry County 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. Pinckneyville Community Hospital has advanced the important work of improving care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

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