Fort Smith, Northwest Arkansas area hospitals receive stroke care awards

The Arkansas Department of Health recently recognized eight Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas hospitals for stroke care performance for the July 2023 to June 2024 program year.

Awards are provided for defect-free stroke care, documentation of stroke bands and door to CT times. According to a news release, defect-free care is a metric based on the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Coverdell metrics to ensure stroke patients receive appropriate care. Stroke bands allow for improved data collection for quality improvement. Faster door to CT times improve the likelihood of better patient outcomes.

Hospitals are assigned to one of three award classes based on the level of adherence:
• Diamond: 95% or more
• Ruby: 90% to 94.99%
• Pearl: 85% to 89.99%

Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville received the diamond award for defect-free care, the ruby award for stroke band documentation, and the pearl award for door to CT times.

Baptist Health-Fort Smith received the pearl award for defect-free care and door to CT times. Mercy Hospital Fort Smith received the pearl award for defect-free care and the diamond award for stroke band documentation. Baptist Health_Van Buren received the ruby award for stroke band documentation and the diamond award for door to CT times.

Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas received the pearl award for defect-free care and door to CT times. Mercy Emergency Department – Springdale received the diamond award for defect-free care and the pearl award for door to CT times. Mercy Emergency Department – Bella Vista received the ruby award for defect-free care and door to CT times.

Ozarks Community Hospital in Gravette received the pearl award for stroke band documentation and the diamond award for door to CT times.