UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network adds Russell County Hospital
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2025) — The UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare – Stroke Care Network (SCN) is announcing the addition of a hospital, bringing the network total to 41 affiliates. Russell County Hospital is the newest member of the SCN, supporting its goal of optimizing access to high-quality stroke care across the state. Russell County Hospital is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Russell Springs.
“We are thrilled and fortunate to have the opportunity to become a member of the UK HealthCare/Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network. Many members of the Russell County team have dedicated their time, talent and resources to getting us across the finish line,” said Scott Thompson, CEO of Russell County Hospital. “This membership puts us in a position to provide the highest level of care for our patients, along with placing our physicians and clinical staff in a position to be successful. We look forward to the continued collaboration and education that will surely come with this membership.”
Stroke Care Network services are designed to help hospitals provide the highest quality stroke-related clinical care. This mission is supported through comprehensive educational programs for providers, staff and community members, as well as robust continuous quality improvement.
Kentucky has among the highest rates of stroke-related deaths in the country, with more than 2,000 Kentuckians dying from stroke or stroke-related complications each year. The medical director of the Stroke Care Network, Larry B. Goldstein, M.D., says continuing to have more hospitals join the network will contribute to the growth of systems of care across the state, improve stroke prevention and emergent treatment, and lead to the best possible outcomes for those who have had a stroke.
“The SCN has been very successful, supporting hospitals with tailored programs supporting stroke care and providing stroke-related professional education with updates on state-of-the-art treatment approaches and tools for reaching out to local communities to enhance stroke prevention and acute responses,” said Goldstein, who is also chair of the University of Kentucky Department of Neurology and co-director of the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute.
Network affiliation aims to optimize stroke prevention with public education and access to interactive stroke risk assessment tools in addition to ways of learning stroke symptoms and the need for rapid response. The collaboration supports the mutual mission of all those involved of keeping patients as close to home as possible.
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