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For over 45 years, Palmetto General Hospital has been serving the growing needs of the Miami-Dade and South Broward communities. Throughout 2014, the hospital’s physicians and employees consistently delivered acclaimed care in services, including cardiac, maternity, pediatrics, wound care and more.
 
Palmetto General started off the year by honoring six exemplary directors with the 2013 Circle of Excellence Award for their service throughout the past year. This award recognizes employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to maintain the highest level of quality service and operational performance.
 
In spring, Palmetto spotlighted important members of the community by presenting the "Exemplary Service Award" to fire rescue crews #1 and #8 from the City of Hialeah Fire Rescue. “Because of their efforts out in the field, our stroke team is able to provide prompt advanced stroke care to the community,” commented Ana Mederos, chief executive officer of Palmetto General Hospital.
 
In May, the hospital hosted “De Mujer A Mujer” in celebration of the Hispanic women of the community. The event offered free health screenings, physician lectures, makeup sessions, maternity suite tours, a fashion show and more.
 
In June, Palmetto 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. Palmetto 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-busting drug tPA.
 
Palmetto General was also a recipient of the “Partner Recognition Award” from Practice Greenhealth. The hospital received the award for making environmental improvements and having at least a ten percent recycling rate for its total waste stream.
 
Later in June, CEO Ana Mederos was appointed to Governor Rick Scott’s Panel on Excellence in Long-Term Care from May 2014 to September 2015. The panel is composed of persons appointed by the Governor’s Office, Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Health, Department of Elder Affairs, Florida Association of Homes for the Aging, Florida Health Care Association, Florida Life Care Residents Association and the State Long Term-Care Ombudsman.
 
As part of its commitment to the health and wellness of the community, Palmetto General Hospital began hosting a weekly farmers market. It features fresh, healthy and locally grown goods at the hospital, including fruits, vegetables, breads, herbs, eggs, soy products and honey.
 
Rounding off the year, the hospital received national recognition as a 2013 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States. As one of only 1,224 hospitals in the U.S. to achieve the Top Performer distinction, Palmetto will be featured in The Joint Commission’s fall 2014 report for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.
 
As the Palmetto General Hospital family moves toward 2015, they plan to continually strive to enhance services and provide the utmost quality care.