SAN ANTONIO, TX, June 3, 2016 — Methodist Hospital has received both the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and the Mission Lifeline® Gold Award Receiving Quality Achievement Award. These awards recognize the hospital’s commitment and success ensuring that stroke and heart attack patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke or heart attack patients.

“Methodist Hospital continually strives to improve the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack or stroke, and the American Heart and American Stroke Associations’ Mission: Lifeline Program and Get With the Guidelines Program are helping us accomplish our goals through nationally respected clinical guidelines,” said Paul Hancock, MD, chief medical officer for Methodist Healthcare System. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac and stroke care, and I am very proud of our team.”

About Methodist Hospital

Methodist Hospital, chartered in 1955, is the pioneer facility of the now world-renowned South Texas Medical Center. Opened in 1963, Methodist Hospital has grown to be the flagship facility of the Methodist Healthcare System, San Antonio’s largest and most preferred health care provider.

Methodist Hospital maintains this excellent reputation with a commitment to the hospital’s value statement that defines quality as meeting the patients’ needs by exceeding their expectations.

Methodist Hospital offers a broad range of specialties including full-service cardiology, boasting San Antonio’s only heart transplant program, oncology, emergency medicine, neurosciences, maternity care, gynecology and orthopedics. Methodist Hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission in stroke care and is designated as an accredited Chest Pain Center.

As part of the Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio, Methodist Hospital has achieved many awards for clinical excellence and quality outcomes as well as innovation and The People’s Choice Award for seven straight years. It received the Texas Award for Performance Excellence in 2014, and has been recognized two years in a row as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission. These accolades are a testament to the hospital, as part of Methodist Healthcare, being selected as the most preferred and trusted health care system each and every year.

About Mission: Lifeline

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org.

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 tools and resources to increase adherence to 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 6 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.