Texas Health Hospitals Earn Recognition from American Heart Association

ARLINGTON, Texas- Multiple Texas Health Resources hospitals and joint ventures were recognized by the American Heart Association for their advanced care of patients with heart attacks, strokes and diabetes.

Sixteen Texas Health facilities received Get With The Guidelines^® recognition for cardiovascular care, and 14 were honored for stroke and diabetes care.

"Texas Health is committed to providing North Texans with the care they deserve, right where they live," said Josh Floren, FACHE, chief operating officer of Texas Health's Hospital Channel. "Regardless of location or severity of the cardiovascular or neurological condition, providing necessary resources close to home and doing it with compassion matters most."

Stroke ranks as the No. 4 cause of death in Texas, and some of the highest rates of stroke prevalence are in North Texas.

In addition, deaths from heart failure, arrhythmia and hypertensive heart disease have increased by more than 80% in the U.S., and together, heart disease and strokes claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases combined.

For Amy L. Papst, M.D., M.S.-H.C.T., the increasing numbers highlight the importance of providing patients with information to empower and educate, along with proper diagnoses and treatment for stroke and cardiovascular conditions.

"Texas Health is fully involved alongside all North Texans in the fight against heart disease, stroke and diabetes," said Papst, who serves as Texas Health's Hospital Channel chief quality and medical officer. "No matter the condition, we are committed to providing our community with the comprehensive care they deserve."

Cardiovascular accolades

The American Heart Association honors facilities for their commitment to treatment guidelines and quality improvement. The recognition for heart attack care was based on achievement in the Get With The Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease program.

The program focuses on three specific cardiovascular conditions:

• ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a lethal type of heart attack that involves full blockage of a coronary artery.
• Non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is normally less damaging to the heart and is a partial blockage of a coronary artery or a blockage of a minor heart blood vessel.
• Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a partial blockage of a coronary artery or a blockage of a minor heart blood vessel.

Receiving centers are higher-level hospitals providing specialized care.

Get With The Guidelines awards for STEMI receiving centers:

STEMI Receiving Gold Plus with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington*
• Texas Health Hospital Frisco*
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano

STEMI Receiving Gold with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South*

STEMI Receiving Silver with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford

STEMI Receiving Bronze Plus

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth

STEMI Receiving Bronze

• Texas Health Hospital Mansfield*

Referring centers - facilities capable of stabilizing and transferring cardiovascular patients, were also recognized with the Get With The Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease honor.

Get With The Guidelines awards for STEMI referring centers:

STEMI Referring Gold Plus with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital

STEMI Referring Bronze

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville

Get With The Guidelines awards for NSTEMI:

NSTEMI Gold with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Allen
• Texas Health Alliance
• Texas Health Arlington Memorial
• Texas Health Dallas
• Texas Health Denton
• Texas Health Fort Worth
• Texas Health Frisco*
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular*
• Texas Health HEB
• Texas Health Huguley*
• Texas Health Plano
• Texas Health Southwest

NSTEMI Silver with Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

• Texas Health Mansfield

NSTEMI Bronze

• Texas Health Cleburne

In addition, Get With The Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease Rural Recognition honors facilities in rural areas that enhance acute cardiac care and eliminate healthcare disparities.

Get With The Guidelines awards for Rural recognition:

Rural STEMI Gold

• Texas Health Stephenville

Rural STEMI Bronze

• Texas Health Cleburne

Rural ACS Gold

• Texas Health Cleburne

Rural ACS Bronze

• Texas Health Stephenville

Additional cardiovascular honors that focused on heart failure and resuscitation treatment were awarded this year:

Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Optimal, Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Fort Worth

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound* earned several resuscitation treatment honors:

• Resuscitation Bronze Adult
• Resuscitation Target: CPR
• Resuscitation Target: Survival Adult
• Resuscitation Target: Survival Pediatric

Commitment to stroke care, diabetes treatment

To earn the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines - Stroke recognition, hospitals must meet specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and heart failure patients for a set period (24 consecutive months or more for gold, 12 months for silver and three months for bronze).

These measures include proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with current, evidence-based guidelines, with the goal of expediting recovery and reducing death and disability for patients.

The Stroke Rural Recognition honor goes to rural hospitals providing timely acute stroke care, which includes emergency medical services, brain imaging and virtual stroke consultations.

In conjunction with stroke recognition, 12 Texas Health hospitals received additional honors, earning Target: Type 2 Diabetes recognition for commitment to providing the most up-to-date, evidence-based care for individuals living with Type 2 diabetes who are hospitalized for a stroke. The more prestigious Honor Roll recognition, earned by 10 Texas Health facilities, highlights organizations that have also earned Silver level or higher Get With The Guidelines honors.

The following received Get With The Guidelines stroke- and/or diabetes-related awards:

Stroke and diabetes recognition:

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Target: Advanced Therapy Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Fort Worth
• Texas Health Plano

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Arlington Memorial

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite, Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Alliance
• Texas Health Dallas
• Texas Health Denton
• Texas Health Frisco
• Texas Health HEB
• Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll, Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Huguley*

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes

• Texas Health Allen
• Texas Health Mansfield

Stroke-specific recognition:

Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite

• Texas Health Stephenville

Stroke Gold Plus

• Texas Health Cleburne

Stroke Rural Gold

• Texas Health Stephenville

Stroke Rural Silver

• Texas Health Cleburne

The American Heart Association also recognized nine Texas Health hospitals with the North Texas 2026 Regional Report Mission: Lifeline Award**.

The honorees are:

• Texas Health Dallas
• Texas Health Denton
• Texas Health Fort Worth
• Texas Health Frisco*
• Texas Health HEB
• Texas Health Huguley*
• Texas Health Mansfield*
• Texas Health Plano
• Texas Health Southwest

To learn more about Texas Health's specialized services, click on diabetes treatment, heart and vascular care and stroke care.

*This facility is a joint venture involving Texas Health Resources.

** The award acknowledges adherence to the Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease quality performance standards from the analysis of the North Texas region's 2025 registry data. Achieving Mission: Lifeline® Regional Recognition denotes a commitment to high-quality systems of care among STEMI Receiving Centers, STEMI Referring Centers and other supporting system participants through collaborative efforts, including participating in Mission: Lifeline® Advanced Analytics Regional Reports and meeting the STEMI Achievement measure requirements collectively.