MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s and American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus With Advanced Therapy Achievement Award. The award recognizes the medical center for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times. “Get With the Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis to improve outcomes for patients,” said Terri Hamm, MercyOne stroke coordinator.