Recognized for commitment: All Baptist Health adult hospitals earn top recognition for stroke care

In recognition of system-wide commitment to excellence, all five Baptist Health adult hospitals have received the highest quality distinction for stroke care from the American Heart Association. Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Baptist Medical Center South, Baptist Medical Center Nassau, Baptist Medical Center Beaches and Baptist Medical Center Clay were awarded the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award. This recognizes the health system’s consistent adherence to research-based guidelines and its dedication to improving outcomes for stroke patients in Northeast Florida and beyond.

“We are incredibly proud of our stroke program and the specialist teams who consistently set new standards of excellence,” said Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Their commitment to delivering life-saving care makes a profound difference in the health and well-being of our community each and every day.”

In the U.S., someone has a stroke every 40 seconds, and nearly 795,000 people experience a new or recurring stroke each year. On average, 453 adults die from stroke every day, making it the No. 5 cause of death nationwide, according to the American Heart Association. It is also the leading contributor to long-term adult disability. To reduce the probability of disability, improve recovery outcomes and save lives, early detection and treatment are critical.

“An estimated two million brain cells are lost every minute a stroke goes untreated, making rapid treatment critical to a patient’s recovery and long-term outcome,” said Ricardo Hanel, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon and co-medical director of the Baptist Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center. “Our dedicated teams of specialists work around-the-clock to deliver the best stroke care in the region and the most advanced treatments available when every second counts.”

Baptist Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center is the regional leader in advanced diagnostics and treatments for strokes, brain aneurysms and other cerebrovascular conditions. Located at Baptist Jacksonville, it is the area’s only Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, the “gold standard” of stroke certifications. Its team of neuro-endovascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, emergency physicians and nurses, radiologists, neurological nurses, rehabilitation specialists and more provide patients with the full continuum of care, from rapid diagnosis and treatment to recovery and rehabilitation. The center’s reach extends to more than two dozen hospitals and satellite ERs via the Telestroke Program, which virtually connects physicians and health care professionals in the greater Jacksonville area and South Central Georgia with Baptist Health’s stroke experts. Accessible 24/7, the program promotes quicker diagnosis and treatment, reduces disability and saves lives.

“We are committed to being a trusted resource not only for stroke care, but also for education and prevention,” said Nima Amin Aghaebrahim, MD, a neurointerventionalist and system medical director for stroke at Baptist Health. “We take pride in expanding access to innovative stroke treatments and strengthening stroke education in our community.”

In addition to the Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus award, which recognizes high performance of 24 consecutive months or more, the American Heart Association also presented Baptist Health’s hospitals with the following awards:

• All five adult hospitals in the health system – Baptist Jacksonville, Baptist South, Baptist Nassau, Baptist Beaches and Baptist Clay – received the Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ Honor Roll award. This honor aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who may be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized because of a stroke.
• Baptist Jacksonville earned the Target: Stroke℠ Honor Roll Elite Plus with Advanced Therapy award. Receiving the highest level of recognition in this category indicates the hospital has met criteria key benchmark that reduces the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at Baptist Jacksonville and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.
• Baptist Clay received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award, while Baptist South and Baptist Nassau both achieved the Target: Stroke Honor Roll award. These achievements demonstrate the hospitals’ ability to meet specific criteria that shorten the time between an eligible patient’s arrival and the administration of clot-busting medication.

For more information on strokes and Baptist Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center, please visit baptistjax.com/stroke.