FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For the second consecutive year, Holy Cross Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to following nationally recognized, research-based guidelines to ensure that stroke patients are receiving appropriate treatments.

In addition, Holy Cross Hospital received the associations’ Target Stoke: Honor Roll Elite Plus award for the second year in a row. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

“Holy Cross is devoted to providing the highest quality of care for patients who have suffered a stroke and following evidence-based guidelines to reduce readmissions and lower mortality rates,” said Holy Cross Hospital President and CEO Patrick A. Taylor, M.D.

The hospital was evaluated on the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments as well as its compliance with up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines, with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also receive instructions on managing their health, scheduling a follow-up visit, and other care instructions.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, strokes are the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.