HCA Florida North Florida Hospital celebrates national recognition for its commitment to providing high-quality stroke care

Press release from HCA Florida North Florida Hospital

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – HCA Florida North Florida Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plus 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.

“HCA Florida North Florida Hospital is committed to improving patient care by following the latest treatment guidelines,” said Gabe Bullaro, the hospital’s chief executive officer. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work for our patients, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community 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 – 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.

“We are incredibly pleased to recognize HCA Florida North Florida Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chair of the American Heart Association 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 healthcare systems, families, and communities.”

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital also received the following awards for 2025 from the American Heart Association:

• Get With The Guidelines® Resuscitation Target: Survival. Target: Survival examines patient survival rates following in-hospital cardiac arrest and adjusts for multiple factors, including cardiac arrest rhythm, event location within the hospital, and prior illness severity. Awarded sites have a survival rate that places them in the top 40% of all Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation participating hospitals in the United States.
• Get With The Guidelines® Resuscitation Target: CPR. This award recognizes hospitals that monitor CPR quality during in-hospital cardiac arrest events.
• Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.
• Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ 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.