Forrest Health Hospitals Nationally Recognized for Commitment to High-Quality Heart Attack, Stroke Care in South Mississippi
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – (July 14, 2025) Six hospitals in the Forrest Health system have been recognized with national awards from the American Heart Association dealing with either the treatment of heart attack, stroke, and/or Type 2 diabetes care.
Recognized were:
Forrest General Hospital, Hattiesburg
- Stroke, Gold Plus (Target: Stroke Honor Roll, Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll)
- Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI, Gold (Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll)
Jefferson Davis Community Hospital, Prentiss
Marion General Hospital, Columbia
Pearl River County Hospital, Poplarville
Walthall General Hospital, Tylertown
Highland Community Hospital, Picayune
The NSTEMI award is in recognition of Forrest General’s commitment to offering rapid, research-based care to people experiencing a specific type of heart attack known as a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Each year, more than 1 million cases of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) require hospitalization in the U.S., and about 70% of ACS cases are classified as NSTEMI, caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery.
The AHA Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award, which Forrest General received, aims to ensure 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.
The stroke awards recognize each hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally-recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
“These Forrest Health hospitals are committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Millie Swan, Forrest Health vice president. “Get With The Guidelines provides direction for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in these South Mississippi communities can experience longer, healthier lives.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. 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.
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
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. For efforts to optimize stroke care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, four Forrest Health hospitals were recognized.
“We are honored our teams at these Forrest Health facilities are being recognized for the important work they do every day to improve the lives of people in their hometowns and surrounding areas who are affected by stroke, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival,” said Steve Jackson, Forrest General vice president. “Rural communities deserve high quality stroke care. I'm proud of our teams for their commitment to stroke care excellence and these achievements.”
The award recognizes hospitals for their efforts toward acute stroke care excellence demonstrated by composite score compliance to guideline-directed care for 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 these South Mississippi communities face unique health care challenges and opportunities,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, volunteer expert for the American Heart Association, co-author on “Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association” and co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. “These Forrest Health facilities have furthered this important work to improve 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 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
