Iowa Specialty Hospitals' Emergency Departments Nationally Recognized for Commitment to Excellence in Cardiovascular Care

(The American Heart Association presents the Get With The Guidelines^® awards for proven dedication to best practices, life-saving care.)

Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond and Iowa Specialty Hospital-Clarion have recently received six American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines^® achievement awards for demonstrating a commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, helping save lives, support recovery and reduce hospital readmissions.

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 4 causes of death in the United States, respectively, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. Studies show patients can experience better outcomes when care teams consistently follow evidence-based treatment guidelines.

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 science-backed guidelines. As a participant in the Get With The Guidelines programs, Iowa Specialty-Belmond and Iowa Specialty-Clarion qualified for the awards by demonstrating a sustained commitment to improving the quality of cardiovascular care.

"Iowa Specialty-Belmond and Iowa Specialty-Clarion are committed to delievering high-quality care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and streamlining processes to ensure timely, appropriate care for heart attacks and strokes," state Steve Simonin, Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics President and CEO. "Get With The Guidelines programs help our teams put proven science into practice every day, supporting better outcomes so more people in Belmond and Clarion, Iowa can live longer, healthier lives."

This year, Iowa Specialty-Belmond and Iowa Specialty-Clarion received these achievement awards:

• Belmond:
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Silver
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Coronary Artery Disease NSTE-ACS Silver
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Stroke Gold

• Clarion
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Bronze
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Coronary Artery Disease NSTE-ACS Gold
  • Get With The Guidelines®-Rural Stroke Bronze

“These awards reflect Iowa Specialty-Belmond’s and Iowa Specialty-Clarion’s commitments to caring for people in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, chair of the American Heart Association Quality Oversight Committee. “By following the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols, Iowa Specialty-Belmond and Iowa Specialty-Clarion can help advance our shared vision of better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a win for patients, families and health care systems.”

About Get With The Guidelines

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Strok 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.