Mercy Hospital Receives Primary Stroke Center Designation
Miami, FL (November 15, 2007) – The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has designated Mercy Hospital a certified Primary Stroke Center. Mercy Hospital is the first and only hospital in Miami-Dade County to have received this designation.
To earn this certification, hospitals must meet stringent requirements and demonstrate that their stroke care program follows national standards and guidelines in order to significantly improve outcomes for stroke patients. This designation demonstrates Mercy’s commitment in providing quality healthcare services to its community.
“Achieving the Primary Stroke Center designation means that stroke patients brought to Mercy receive specialized care, treatment and resources from a dedicated multidisciplinary team,” says Maria Raquel Lopez, M.D., a neurologist at Mercy Hospital.
Mercy’s Stroke Program began with the goal of improving the efficiency of patient care, reducing morbidity and mortality among patients, reducing costs to the healthcare system and improving long term patient outcomes.
The Stroke Program is made up of a stroke team, two stroke units, patient care protocols, neurosurgical services, emergency care services, an emergency response system and rehabilitation program.
The highly trained multidisciplinary stroke team includes clinical nurse specialists, a quality manager, neurologists, rehabilitation physician, emergency room physicians, managers, bedside nurses and physical therapists.
“Mercy offers advanced stroke care with the ability to treat routine to complex stroke cases,” says Jeffrey Horstmyer, M.D., president of the Mercy Hospital medical staff and a neurologist who has worked on stroke center development in Miami-Dade County for nearly 10 years.
As part of its commitment to provide the community with the best possible stroke care, Mercy’s stroke team is available on-site 24 hours a day.
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Mercy Hospital, a recipient of the prestigious Magnet™ award for nursing excellence, is Miami-Dade’s only Catholic Hospital. Established in 1950, it is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph and a member of Catholic Health East. A 483-bed acute care hospital, staffed by over 700 physicians representing 27 medical specialties, its Centers of Excellence include: The Heart Center at Mercy Hospital, the Miami Cancer Center at Mercy Hospital, the Orthopaedic Institute at Mercy Hospital, and the Minimally Invasive Surgical Institute at Mercy Hospital. Mercy Hospital is located at 3663 S. Miami Avenue, Miami, FL.
For more information contact:
Arianne Rey
(305) 860-4634
Yvette Rodriguez
(305) 663-3543
