DES MOINES, September 16, 2024 — The American Heart Association reports 31 facilities across Iowa have received recognition for participation in the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline Stroke post-acute care initiative to enhance guideline-based care for stroke patients, ultimately improving and prolonging lives.

Locally, achievement awards were presented to the Midlands Living Center, in Council Bluffs, and Myrtue Medical Center, in Harlan. The Audubon County Memorial Hospital received a recognition award from the American Heart Association. (View the full list of Achievement and Recognition Awards below)

Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability in the U.S. and approximately 795,000 people each year experience a new or recurrent stroke, according to the American Heart Association’s 2023 statistical update. Participation in the American Heart Association’s post-acute care initiative can help facilities support faster and more effective recovery from stroke through standardized coordination, adherence and implementation of evidence-based care.

Evidence-based rehabilitation and secondary prevention interventions improve recovery after stroke and reduce secondary complications. However, stroke rehabilitation expertise, processes of care, and educational resources vary among sites where post-acute care is delivered. The American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, developed quality standards based on the Association’s 2016 Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery to address these gaps.

The post-acute care initiative provides a framework for assisting facilities to improve care according to the American Heart Association’s rigorous science-based requirements for stroke rehabilitation, including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management and quality improvement.

Facilities participating in the post-acute care initiative receive a participation stipend and site-specific quality improvement support and process improvement ideas surrounding quality standards for stroke recovery, rehabilitation and secondary prevention. Facilities also have the opportunity to be part of a learning collaborative, working with experts in stroke rehabilitation to build tools and share and create best practices. Participation improves collaboration between post-acute care facilities and others involved in stroke care, including hospitals and outpatient providers.

Certificate of achievement recipients have committed to establishing a stroke-specific rehab program, providing stroke education to all staff members, implementing evidence-based protocols and policies, and continuous quality improvement.

Mission: Lifeline Stroke is the American Heart Association’s community-based initiative to develop systems of care to improve outcomes for stroke patients. The program launched in Iowa in July 2022 with the support of a $7.5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The goal of Mission: Lifeline stroke is to bring together hospitals, emergency medical services and first responders, rehabilitation facilities, communications and regulatory agencies, state and local government, and payers to forge a proactive system of stroke care that saves and improves lives.

Sites receiving achievement awards included:

• Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital, West Union
• Guttenberg Municipal Hospital, Guttenberg
• Hegg Health Center, Rock Valley
• Jackson County Regional Health Center, Maquoketa
• Jones Regional Medical Center, Anamosa
• Kahl Home, Davenport
• Lucas County Health Center, Chariton
• Mary Greeley Medical Center, Ames
• Midlands Living Center, Council Bluffs
• Myrtue Medical Center, Harlan
• NewAldaya Lifescapes, Cedar Falls
• UnityPoint Health- Finley Hospital, Dubuque
• University of Iowa Health Network Rehabilitation Hospital, Coralville

Sites receiving recognition awards are:

• Audubon County Memorial Hospital, Audubon
• Buchanan County Health Center, Independence
• Cedar Ridge Village, Des Moines
• Community Memorial Hospital, Sumner
• Davis County Hospital, Bloomfield
• Genesis Medical Center DeWitt, DeWitt
• Good Samaritan LeMars, LeMars
• Hearthstone, Pella
• Independence Village, Waukee
• Kennybrook Village, Grimes
• Lone Tree Health Care Center, Lone Tree
• On With Life, Ankeny
• Prairie Vista Village, Altoona
• Sanford Sheldon Medical Center, Sheldon
• St. Luke’s, Sioux City
• Solon Retirement Village, Solon
• Van Buren County Hospital, Keosauqua
• West Ridge Care Center, West Ridge