Florida Medical Center – 2016 Year in Review

In 2016, Florida Medical Center, a campus of North Shore Medical Center, grew and adapted to better meet the needs of the dynamic communities it serves. The hospital expanded its suite of services, and its patient-centered care was celebrated with esteemed awards. Some of Florida Medical Center’s most significant achievements of the year include:

 

Florida Medical Center was the first hospital in Florida to achieve full Chest Pain Center (CPC) with Primary PCI with Resuscitation Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC). As an Accredited CPC, Florida Medical Center’s evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. Accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event. Such monitoring ensures patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

 

The Heart Institute of Florida at Florida Medical Center adopted a new procedure, the convergent approach, for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, or AFib. The minimally invasive procedure combines electrophysiology and cardiac surgery treatments to help restore normal heart rhythm. Utilizing the convergent approach, the surgeon is able to create comprehensive, linear lesions on the outside surface of a beating heart through a small, one-inch incision made in the patient’s abdomen. There are no chest incisions and/or ports, as in other surgical ablation procedures.

 

This year, local patients with severe obesity got the option to receive surgical treatment at a nationally accredited bariatric program. Florida Medical Center is the first and only hospital in Broward County to offer the ReShape™ Integrated Dual Balloon System, an FDA approved, first-of-its-kind, non-surgical weight loss procedure for people with mild to moderate obesity. ReShape provides a new option for adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30-40 who have not been able to achieve weight loss through diet and exercise, and do not want or do not qualify for bariatric surgery.

 

The hospital, which is part of the Advanced Neuroscience Network (ANN), received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll-Elite Plus. This is the highest distinction awarded and recognizes Florida Medical Center’s commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

 

Florida Medical Center proudly unveiled The Specialty Surgical Suites, designed for post-surgery patients to return to good health. Located on the 5th floor of the hospital, the 31-bed unit provides more space and greater privacy for patients and family members.