HCA Florida Ocala Hospital earns national honors for heart and stroke care quality
Ocala, FL — HCA Healthcare, Inc., one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, and the HCA Healthcare Foundation are further strengthening collaboration with the American Heart Association on the Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ initiative through $3.9 million in funding and support. This latest investment builds upon a collaboration announced in 2022, focused on deepening the heart-brain connection to help treat, beat and prevent stroke.
Together, the American Heart Association, HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation are working to foster cardiovascular health, prevent stroke and improve patient outcomes by increasing cardiology and neurology collaboration, deploying evidence-based education and interventions, and identifying and minimizing health disparities. This ongoing work includes developing accredited education programming for healthcare professionals, along with a specific learning collaborative with 10 HCA Healthcare facilities, including HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, focused on continuously improving quality of care.
“As a Comprehensive Stroke Center, the best quality care and outcomes for our patients is the primary goal,” said HCA Florida Ocala Hospital Stroke Program Manager Michelle Hamilton. “Partnering with the American Heart Association and participating in the Getting to the Heart of Stroke initiative has allowed HCA Florida Ocala Hospital to improve stroke care and implement best practices for our community.”
The participating Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ hospitals significantly improved identification of the cause of stroke by 33%, through care team collaboration, best practice-sharing and increased utilization of evidence-based diagnostic testing. Hamilton will be highlighting HCA Florida Ocala Hospital’s accomplishments at the 2026 International Stroke Conference.
“We are proud to continue our work with the American Heart Association and Getting to the Heart of Stroke™,” said Joanne Pulles, vice president of community engagement at HCA Healthcare and president of the HCA Healthcare Foundation. “The past three years have been deeply meaningful, and we are committed to helping improve heart and brain health outcomes through our combined resources and expertise.”
With support from the HCA Healthcare Foundation, Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ has reached over 200 million individuals with evidence-informed education on AFib and stroke risk, while expanding outreach to more than 160 community organizations, including clinics, schools, food pantries and libraries, and implementing intervention programs focused on controlling blood pressure, improving nutrition security and maternal health.
“As one of the largest providers of stroke and cardiovascular care in the United States, this ongoing collaboration with the American Heart Association allows us to better serve our patients, communities and healthcare providers by improving education, prevention, care and outcomes for stroke, as well as by identifying and treating its underlying cardiovascular causes,” said Steven Manoukian, MD, FAHA, senior vice president at HCA Healthcare and American Heart Association 2024 Healthcare Volunteer of the Year.
In this fourth year of the initiative, the American Heart Association will focus on expanding and deepening community partnerships to deliver meaningful health interventions in trusted community settings and empowering the public on how to manage their stroke and AFib risk with tools and resources. HCA Healthcare will expand its quality improvement efforts to all of its 43 comprehensive stroke centers, utilizing research to identify and share clinical and operational best practices with an added focus on preventing stroke-related disability.
“With continued support for both clinical innovation and community health, we can reach more people with the tools and knowledge to reduce stroke risk and improve early detection, to help ensure longer, healthier lives,” said Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS, chief science officer, brain health and stroke, at the American Heart Association. “Continuing this initiative means we can deepen our ability to address the heart-brain connection, an essential but often overlooked factor in stroke prevention and recovery.”