August 27, 2025- Research shows that rural Americans are at 30% higher risk of stroke, are 40% more likely to develop heart disease and live an average of three years fewer than their urban counterparts. The American Heart Association is committed to closing the gap between rural and urban health outcomes. To continue improving cardiovascular care in rural communities, the Association announced today the three-year funding extension of its Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator through June 2028.
Since its launch in 2022, the Accelerator has significantly expanded rural hospital participation in Get With The Guidelines®, the American Heart Association’s proven, evidence-based, in-hospital approach to improving patient outcomes by promoting consistent adherence to the latest research-driven guidelines and measurement.
Extending the Accelerator initiative will provide a limited number of three-year no-cost enrollment opportunities for new rural organizations participating in the Get With The Guidelines programs for coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Participating federally designated Critical Access Hospitals will receive no-cost access to all five Get With The Guidelines programs — including for atrial fibrillation and resuscitation. Further, all rural Get With The Guidelines program participants, whether enrolled in the Accelerator or not, will receive access to the peer-to-peer American Heart Association Rural Community Network, a dedicated American Heart Association Quality Program Consultant, quarterly learning collaboratives, quality improvement focus groups and educational resources tailored to rural hospital clinicians. In addition, the Association recognizes Get With The Guidelines Rural participants, with recognition awards focused on a set of performance metrics developed for rural hospitals.