The American Heart Association recognizes Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto for excellence in stroke and heart failure care
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 14, 2026– The American Heart Association has presented Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto with the Get With The Guidelines — Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and the Get With The Guidelines — Heart Failure Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award.
Baptist DeSoto received these awards for its commitment to ensuring people experiencing strokes receive timely, appropriate treatment and for its ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for people with heart failure.
“Baptist DeSoto is committed to delivering high-quality care by following the latest evidence-based treatment guidelines,” said Brian Hogan, CEO and administrator of Baptist DeSoto. “Get With The Guidelines helps our care teams put proven science into practice every day. Research shows this approach can support better recovery, with the ultimate goal of helping more people in DeSoto County and surrounding areas live longer, healthier lives.”
Each year, participating hospitals qualify for award recognition by demonstrating sustained performance in delivering quality care for patients with heart failure.
“We are proud to recognize the leadership and dedicated care teams at Baptist DeSoto for their strong commitment to improving care for people living with heart failure,” said Sabra Lewsey, M.D., MPH, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Heart Failure System of Care Advisory Group. “Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines — Heart Failure, a 20-year flagship quality improvement program, often achieve better patient outcomes, including fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — benefitting patients, families, communities and health care systems alike.”
Baptist DeSoto also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll/Elite Award for reducing the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.
“We are proud to recognize Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in its commitment to caring for people experiencing strokes,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, including greater likelihood of being discharged home, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a meaningful benefit for health care systems, families and communities.”
In addition, Baptist DeSoto received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes 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 heart disease or stroke.
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 18 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto is a 339-bed hospital that offers diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitation services, as well as open-heart surgery and a number of other cardiovascular services. The hospital completed a $19 million emergency department expansion and renovation project in 2018 that added 20,000 square feet to the facility. An 87,000-square-foot, $55 million physician office building opened on the hospital campus in July 2022. U.S. News & World Report recognized the hospital as a Best Regional Hospital in the metro-Memphis area and Mississippi for 2026–2027, the American Heart Association acknowledged the hospital for cardiac and stroke care, and the American College of Cardiology named the hospital a HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence in 2025. For more information, please call 662-772-4000, visit desoto.baptistonline.org or follow us on Facebook at @baptistmemorialhospital-desoto.
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