Seven Orlando Health Hospitals Earn Recognition From American Heart Association For Providing Life-Saving Stroke Care

Orlando, FL (July 29, 2024) Seven Orlando Health hospitals have earned recognition from the American Heart Association for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients quickly receive proper treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital, Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, Orlando Health South Lake Hospital, Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital were awarded the Get with the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for a qualification period of 24 months. 

Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital received the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Achievement Award for a qualification period of 12 months. 

“At Orlando Health, we know that quickly identifying a stroke and administering appropriate treatment to patients increases the chances of a better outcome, plus reduces the possibility of long-term health impacts,” said George Ralls, MD, chief medical officer, Orlando Health. “This recognition affirms our dedication to always providing the highest quality stroke care for our patients using the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines.”

A stroke occurs when there is a loss of blood flow to part of the brain from a blood vessel that is either blocked by a clot or has ruptured. 

Every year in the United States, nearly 800,000 people have a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association and a leading cause of long-term disability. 

In addition to following treatment guidelines, the stroke care teams at Orlando Health also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home, plus connect them to resources for follow-up care.

About Orlando Health 

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $9.6 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. 

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for Central Florida’s only pediatric and adult Level I Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level II Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of one of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care units, one of the only systems 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 3,487-bed system includes 17 hospitals, 10 free-standing emergency rooms and nine Hospital Care at Home programs. An additional four hospitals and six free-standing emergency rooms are coming soon. The system also includes 10 specialty institutes, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 375 outpatient facilities that include physician clinics, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care. More than 4,950 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 29,000 team members and more than 1,500 physicians. 

In FY 23, Orlando Health cared for 197,000 inpatients and 6.6 million outpatients.  The healthcare system provided nearly $1.3 billion in total impact to the communities it serves in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 22, the most recent period for which this information is available.

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