Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s heart program is the first in Florida and fourth in the nation to receive the American Heart Association’s Cardiovascular Center of Excellence accreditation, a comprehensive level of designation for cardiovascular care. As an accredited Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, Sarasota Memorial’s cardiac team demonstrated that it met or exceeded standards established using multidisciplinary treatment models for all types of cardiovascular patients. The standards include 24/7 cardiovascular services, comprehensive training for all staff caring for this patient population, a strong internal and external systems-of-care approach to deliver services and extensive community outreach to help its population recognize and participate in cardiovascular health. SMH underwent rigorous reviews by the American Heart Association’s accreditation review team. During the reviews, cardiovascular quality improvement specialists reviewed the hospital’s policies, procedures and operations to ensure appropriate diagnosis, treatment and education protocols were in place and executed for cardiovascular patients. The facility also had to demonstrate efforts to increase community awareness of the importance of cardiovascular health.