Six Baptist Health Hospitals Honored for Top-Tier Stroke Care Performance

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Baptist Health is proud to announce that six of its hospitals have been recognized by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) for their outstanding commitment to high-quality stroke care. The awards, based on performance metrics from the Arkansas Stroke Registry between July 2024 and June 2025, highlight Baptist Health’s dedication to improving survival rates and patient outcomes in a state with some of the highest stroke risks in the nation.

The ADH awards are categorized into Diamond (95%+ adherence), Ruby (90–94.99%), and Pearl (85–89.99%) classes. The following Baptist Health hospitals were recognized:

• Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock: Ruby for Stroke Band Documentation 
• Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock: Pearl for Coverdell Defect-Free Stroke Care Award and Ruby for Stroke Band Documentation 
• Baptist Health-Fort Smith: Pearl for Stroke Band Documentation
• Baptist Health Medical Center-Stuttgart: Ruby for Door to CT Times
• Baptist Health Medical Center-Hot Spring County: Pearl for Coverdell Defect-Free Stroke Care Award, Door to CT Times and Stroke Band Documentation
• Baptist Health Medical Center-Drew County: Ruby for Door to CT Times

Key metrics evaluated include Door-to-CT times, which measure how quickly a patient receives a brain scan to determine treatment, and Defect-Free Care, which ensures patients receive every evidence-based treatment for which they are eligible.

Arkansas currently ranks among the top states in the "Stroke Belt," holding the 4th highest stroke death rate in the United States. With roughly 32 Arkansans hospitalized for stroke every day, according to ADH, the speed and quality of care provided by local hospitals are matters of life and death. 

Baptist Health encourages all Arkansans to learn the BE FAST acronym to identify a stroke. If you notice any of the following, call 911 immediately:

• Balance: Sudden loss of coordination.
• Eyes: Sudden blurred or double vision.
• Face: Facial drooping on one side.
• Arms: Weakness or drifting in one arm.
• Speech: Slurred or strange speech.
• Time: Time to call 911.

About Baptist Health

For more than a century, Baptist Health has delivered all our best in health care through Christian compassion and innovative services. Baptist Health, Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization, is here For You. For Life. – with more than 300 points of access that include 12 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community; over 75 primary and specialty care clinics; a college with studies in nursing and allied health; and a graduate residency program. It is also the largest private not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, providing care through the support of approximately 12,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs. Baptist Health is certified as a Great Place to Work and is honored by Newsweek as one of America’s Most Admired Workplaces 2026. For more information about Baptist Health, visit Baptist-Health.org, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app. Find us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.