Three Rivers Hospital Earns National Gold Award for Rural Stroke Care Excellence

BREWSTER, Wash. – People living in rural communities face significantly higher risks when it comes to heart disease and stroke – including a 30 percent increased risk of stroke-related death. At Three Rivers Hospital, our team is committed to closing that gap.

Three Rivers Hospital has received the Gold Rural Recognition Award from the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines® – Stroke program. This honor reflects our hospital’s ongoing efforts to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care to stroke patients in our region.

“We’re incredibly proud of our care team for achieving this recognition,” said Chief Nursing Officer Christine Smith. “As a rural hospital, we often face challenges like long transport times and limited resources. But we’ve made it a priority to ensure those factors don’t limit the level of stroke care we provide. Every patient deserves timely, lifesaving care, no matter where they live.”

This award recognizes hospitals for excellence in acute stroke care, measured by timely administration of clot-busting medication (IV thrombolytics), effective coordination with emergency medical services, rapid inter-facility transfers, thorough stroke assessments, and use of telemedicine for specialist consultations.

“Patients and health care professionals in Okanogan and Douglas counties face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, co-author on the American Heart Association’s presidential advisory on rural health. “Three Rivers Hospital has furthered this important work to improve care for all Americans, regardless of where they live.”

This marks the second consecutive year of recognition for Three Rivers Hospital, which earned a Silver award in 2024 and advanced to Gold in 2025.

About Get With The Guidelines®
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program, providing healthcare teams with the latest evidence-based care guidelines. Since 2001, the program has improved outcomes for more than 14 million patients nationwide. Learn more at heart.org.