Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville earned what Baptist Health called the American Heart Association's highest stroke-care quality award, along with four other system hospitals in Northeast Florida.

All five Baptist Health adult hospitals received the AHA's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus award, which recognizes at least 24 consecutive months of high performance in following research-based stroke treatment guidelines, Baptist Health announced Tuesday, Sept. 8. Baptist Medical Center South, Baptist Medical Center Nassau, Baptist Medical Center Beaches and Baptist Medical Center Clay also received the designation.

Jacksonville Hospital Gets Extra Distinctions

Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville earned additional recognition as a Joint Commission-certified comprehensive stroke center. The hospital also received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus with Advanced Therapy award, indicating it met benchmarks for reducing the time between a patient's arrival and clot-removal treatment. Baptist Medical Center South and Baptist Medical Center Nassau received a separate Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award for shortening the time to clot-busting medication, and Baptist Medical Center Nassau also earned a Rural Stroke Bronze award. All five hospitals received the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award for providing evidence-based care to stroke patients who also have Type 2 diabetes.

Decade of Building Stroke Network

"We have spent more than 10 years building and strengthening our comprehensive stroke network," Matt Zuino, president and CEO of Baptist Health, said in the announcement. He added that the system connects hospitals and providers so patients receive specialized care regardless of where they enter.

The Baptist Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center, based at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, staffs specialists around the clock and connects 20 hospitals and satellite emergency rooms across greater Jacksonville and South Georgia through its Telestroke Program.

Telestroke Program Connects 20 Sites

Ricardo Hanel, a neurosurgeon and co-medical director of the center, said in the announcement that stroke teams provide specialized care at all hours.

According to the AHA, a stroke occurs every 40 seconds in the United States and is the fourth-leading cause of death, claiming an average of 446 lives per day. The Telestroke Program is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week across the 20 connected sites.