Hialeah Hospital has been diligent in its mission to serve the community’s healthcare needs. From being recognized as a leader in various specialties to expanding its medical services, the hospital continues to enhance patient care each year.
2014 began with Hialeah Hospital being accredited by The Joint Commission, in conjunction with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association as a Primary Stroke Center. This achievement signifies an organization’s dedication to fostering better outcomes for patients. Hialeah Hospital’s advanced certification demonstrates that its stroke program meets critical elements of performance to achieve long term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients. The hospital was designated a Primary Stroke Center by the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration in 2012.
In early spring, Dr. Werner Andrade, a bariatric surgeon, was appointed medical director of the hospital’s new Center for Weight Loss Surgery. The program offers a variety of minimally invasive bariatric procedures.
Hialeah Hospital was notified in April that it received the Get With The Guidelines ®-Stroke Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients. The hospital also made the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster drug, tPA.
In August, Hialeah Hospital celebrated the opening of its new Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit, of which Dr. Rossana Lopez was appointed medical director. The unit offers comprehensive psychiatric inpatient services for adults and specializes in the treatment of individuals with emotional disturbances, including depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. Dr. Lopez is board certified in internal medicine and has extensive experience in geriatrics and psychiatry.
In addition to all of the recognitions Hialeah Hospital garnered this year, giving back to the community was always at the forefront of the hospital’s activities. During Emergency Medical Services Week celebrations in May, the hospital paid tribute to the City of Hialeah Fire Rescue for their dedication to the community and handed out plaques to the entire department. Just before the new school year started, hospital employees held a backpack drive for local schoolchildren in need of appropriate supplies. To celebrate October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hialeah Hospital hosted and participated in various activities, including changing the hospital’s exterior lighting to pink, free breakfast or lunch for women who scheduled their mammograms and a “Go Pink Bake Sale” with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society.
