BROOKSVILLE, FL (June 30, 2021) – HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s SilverPlus Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
“We are committed to improving patient care for the patients we are privileged to serve by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Chief Medical Officer David P. Slovut, MD. “Get With The Guidelines is one of the many tools we use each day to help ensure more people in Hernando and our surrounding counties can experience longer, healthier lives.”
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S.A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., chairperson of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus) award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduces the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase.
Additionally, the hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
PHOTO: Our stroke team is led by our Physician Stroke Champion Jason Grabert, MD, and Irina Davis, RN, Stroke Coordinator. They primarily work in collaboration with emergency and critical care nurses to provide lifesaving stroke care to patients. Pictured here is the emergency team with the quality team and executive leaders.
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About HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital
HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital has been serving the Nature Coast since 1984 and is the largest private employer and largest hospital in Hernando and Citrus Counties with 350 beds. The facility offers Hernando County’s only dedicated pediatric emergency room and pediatric inpatient unit. HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital’s healthcare delivery team is comprised of more than 600 physicians, 1,800 associates, and over 100 volunteers. For more information, visit HCAFloridaHealthcare.com
About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.