MIAMI – Baptist Hospital is the second hospital in Florida and the first in South Florida to get certified as a comprehensive stroke center.
The Joint Commission, a not-for-profit organization, recently granted the status after an inspection that showed the hospital has "state-of-the-art infrastructure, staff and training necessary to treat patients with the most complex strokes," a Baptist Hospital statement said.
Neurosurgeon Sergio Gonzalez-Arias, Baptist Health Neuroscience Center medical director, said the hospital staff is prepared to deal with "challenging types of strokes and cerebrovascular disease." The staff includes neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists, who focuses on radiology of the nervous system.
An estimated 795,000 Americans experience a stroke each year. A stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death and the leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability.