Baptist Health earns national recognition for stroke care

All adult hospitals at Baptist Health received the American Heart Association's GoldPlus Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Quality Achievement Award for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. Baptist Jacksonville, Baptist South, Baptist Beaches, and Baptist Nassau each received the elite award.

Stroke is the No. 5 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-Stroke was developed to assist health care professionals provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.

"The Baptist Health team has a long history of providing excellence in stroke care in our community, and we are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping patients experience rapid and advanced treatment after a stroke," said Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Baptist Health.

With cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities, Baptist Health's Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center is the regional epicenter for advanced diagnostics and treatments for strokes, brain aneurysms and other cerebrovascular conditions.

"Not all stroke centers are created equal. At Baptist Health, we offer patients a dedicated, top-notch team that is unique in our region. On top of that, we offer the highest facilities for neurological care, including a Neurointensive Care Unit, and a specialized area in our emergency department designed for stroke, brain aneurysms and other neurological emergencies, which was the first of its kind in Florida and one of the best in the country," said Ricardo Hanel, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon and co-medical director of the Baptist Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center. "We are proud that our teams have been recognized with this prestigious award. Not only do we have the highest number of patients treated, but also best results in the region."

Each year, program participants apply for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Baptist Health also provides education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.

Baptist Jacksonville also received the Target: Stroke^SM Elite Plus and Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll awards; and Baptist Nassau also received the Association's Target: Stroke^SM Elite Honor award. To qualify for Honor  Roll recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. To qualify for the Advanced Therapy award hospitals must successfully treat at least 50% of qualified stroke patients within 90 minutes of arriving directly to their facility and within 60 minutes of arriving by EMS transport.

Additionally, all four hospitals received the Association's Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the "Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score."