Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital has been honored by the American Heart Association for its dedication to providing swift and effective treatment to stroke patients, adhering to nationally recognized, research-based protocols.

Orlando Health St. Cloud has been honored with the Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Silver Plus Achievement Award, recognizing their outstanding commitment to delivering high-quality stroke care for 12 consecutive months.

“We understand the importance of quickly identifying a possible stroke and administering appropriate treatment,” said Joel Santora, MD, MBA, critical care physician & chief quality officer, Orlando Health St. Cloud Hospital. “This recognition affirms our dedication to always providing the highest quality stroke care to our patients, which increases the chances of a better outcome and reduces the possibility of long-term health impacts.”

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 team at Orlando Health St. Cloud educates patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home, plus connects 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.