Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s efforts to improve cardiac arrest survival in newborns and infants has received national recognition for the second consecutive year.

Formerly known as Miami Children’s Hospital, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children. It received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Resuscitation Quality Gold Achievement Award in the neonate (newborn) and infant category for meeting specific measures in treating neonate and infant patients who suffer cardiac arrests in the hospital.

More than 200,000 adults and children have an in-hospital cardiac arrest each year, according to the American Heart Association. Survival from cardiac arrest is largely dependent on timely medical emergency team response and effective CPR.

The Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation program was developed to help save lives of patients who experience in-hospital cardiac arrests by consistently following the most up-to-date research-based guidelines for treatment. Guidelines include following protocols for patient safety, medical emergency team response, effective and timely resuscitation (CPR) and post-resuscitation care.

“We are pleased to recognize Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for their commitment in following these guidelines,” said Tia Raymond, M.D., national chairperson of the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Systems of Care Advisory Group. “Shortening the time to effective resuscitation and maximizing post-resuscitation care is critical to patient survival.”

“Nicklaus Children’s is honored to again be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to ensuring that our medical personnel has the proper knowledge and training so that our patients have the best possible chance of survival after a cardiac arrest,” said Matthew A. Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System.