Six Orlando Health Hospitals Receive National Recognition for Providing Life-Saving Stroke Care

Orlando, FL (July 8, 2022) – Orlando Health received six awards from the American Heart Association for consistently following the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of stroke. The implementation of this evidence-based care ultimately leads to more lives saved, shorter recovery times, and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

The six Orlando Health hospitals received the following awards:

Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Orlando Health - Health Central Hospital

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Silver Plus

Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Orlando Health South Lake Hospital

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Silver Plus Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg

• Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll

The American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines recognition is awarded to hospitals that go above and beyond when it comes to stroke care, with an emphasis on timely administration of interventions and treatment. Additional evaluation measures for the achievements include proper use of medication and other stroke treatments that are proven to improve patient outcomes and recovery. Recognized hospitals are also required to provide patients with additional education about their health, schedule a follow-up visit and provide additional care transition interventions. Patients who make and keep their follow-up visits have higher rates of success in managing their health even after they’ve left the hospital.

“Once a stroke occurs, it’s a rush against the clock to administer lifesaving treatment so patients are more likely to have the best possible outcome,” said Kelly Nierstedt, Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center president. “We know that when quality stroke care is provided in a timely manner, patients are more likely to have better outcomes with less long-term impacts. This award further recognizes our hospitals’ commitment to providing every patient with the best care possible when they need it most.”

Nearly 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, more than 600,000 of those cases are first or new strokes. Early detection and treatment for stroke patients are crucial in order to improve the likelihood of survival, minimize severity of disability and accelerate recovery times.

Both Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center and Bayfront Health St. Petersburg also received the Association’s Target: Stroke^SM Honor Roll. Hospitals that qualify for this recognition must meet additional quality measures that reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and the administration of Alteplase, the only clot-busting drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. The drug works by dissolving blood clots that block blood flow to areas of the brain impacted by stroke, reducing the risk of damage and is critical in order to minimize possible long-term effects of stroke in patients.

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $8 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for Central Florida’s only pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in the St. Petersburg region. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health has pioneered life-changing medical research and its Graduate Medical Education program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows. The 3,200-bed system includes 10 award-winning hospitals, 9 hospital based ERs, and 7 free-standing emergency rooms; rehabilitation services, cancer and heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care. More than 4,200 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 23,000 team members. In FY21, Orlando Health served more than 160,000 inpatients and 3.6 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided approximately $648 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.