Bassett Medical Center Nationally Recognized for Providing High-Quality Care to Stroke Patients

The American Heart Association Presents Get With The Guidelines® Awards for Proven Dedication to Best Practices and Life-Saving Care

Bassett Medical Center has received two prestigious American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines® Awards achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treatment of stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times, and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

Stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States, according to the American Heart Association 2025 Statistical Update. 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.

Get With The Guidelines programs put the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide. As a participant, Bassett Medical Center qualified for the following awards in 2025 by demonstrating its commitment to quality care. 

Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• To quality for Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite, Bassett Medical Center met specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy. Thrombolytic therapy is an emergency treatment where medications are used to dissolve blood clots.  
• To qualify for Target: Type 2 Diabetes, Bassett Medical Center demonstrated its commitment to ensuring patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

Get With the Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold 

• All rural hospitals participating in Get With The Guidelines - Stroke are eligible to receive this award recognition based on a unique methodology focused on early acute stroke performance metrics.
   

“These awards show Bassett Medical Center's commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, past volunteer president of the American Heart Association and current volunteer chair of the Association’s Quality Oversight Committee. “By following the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols, Bassett Medical Center can help realize our shared vision of improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions, and lower mortality rates — a win for health care systems, families, and communities.”

Bassett Medical Center has been a Stroke Center since 2005. Being a designated Stroke Center means that nurses, physician assistants, and other stroke team experts have completed additional training in the management, diagnosis, and care of patients with cerebrovascular disease and stroke.

“We are proud that our team at Bassett Medical Center is being recognized for the vital work they do to improve outcomes for patients affected by stroke across our eight-county service region,” said Dr. Ramesh Cherukuri, Division Chief of Neurology for Bassett Healthcare Network. “As a hospital serving a rural community, we face unique challenges—including extended interfacility transport times and limited staffing resources. Despite these hurdles, we are committed to ensuring that our stroke patients receive the highest standard of care and the best possible chance at recovery and survival.”

Dr. Cherukuri, who was appointed Chief of Neurology in February, recently succeeded Dr. Matthew Kleinmaier, Chief of Emergency and Trauma Services, as Stroke Director. 

Dr. Kleinmaier, in his role as Stroke Director, oversaw the team’s efforts – leading the discipline to these distinctions from the American Heart Association, among other awards.

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and accelerating recovery times.

“F.A.S.T. is the acronym that can save lives. It’s a simple way to remember the symptoms of stroke,” says Jo-Ann Vass, RN, Bassett Healthcare Network’s Stroke Program Coordinator. “F stands for face drooping. A stands for arm weakening. S stands for slurred speech and T means it’s time to call 9-1-1. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving patient outcomes.”

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.