Protocols ensure rapid response for stroke patients
Sudden weakness. Numbness on one side of the body. A severe headache that appears out of nowhere. When signs of a stroke strike, the clock begins.
Powers Health covers the spectrum of stroke needs, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. Those topics and more will be featured at the upcoming Stroke & Diabetes Awareness Fair.
The free event will take place from 8-11 am Thursday, May 14 at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts. Vendors also will be on site, offering information and screenings, including a free A1C and lipid panel (10- to 12-hour fast is required for bloodwork).
Register for the Stroke & Diabetes Awareness Fair here.
May is American Stroke Month. Stroke is a leading cause of disability and the No. 4 cause of death in America, according to the American Heart Association. Powers Health is doing its part to give patients the best possible outcome. When a person experiences a stroke, time is of the essence. Each moment a stroke goes untreated, tissue is damaged.
A 911 call puts the wheels in motion. When emergency responders determine a person may be experiencing a stroke, Emergency Medical Services uses established rapid triage and transfer protocols to take patients to the closest hospital with the most appropriate level of care. Powers Health hospitals are prepared.
Community Hospital in Munster is a Joint Commission Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, providing the highest level of expertise and treatment of complex acute strokes.
Community Hospital provides 24/7 access to minimally invasive catheter procedures to treat stroke, as well as a dedicated neuroscience intensive care unit, on-site neurosurgical availability around the clock and access to research through participation in national stroke trials.
This higher level of care and management allows Community Hospital to serve as the destination center for complex stroke patients, including those arriving from Primary Stroke Centers across northern Indiana.
Community Hospital is supported by certified Primary Stroke Centers at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Specialty hospital Powers Health Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point and Therapy Services throughout the healthcare system are outfitted with advanced rehabilitation equipment to help stroke patients regain their quality of life.
When the Powers Health advanced multidisciplinary medical team is alerted that a possible stroke patient is on the way, they quickly mobilize to deliver urgent, specialized stroke or neuroendovascular care when the ambulance arrives at the Emergency Department.
From the ambulance, the patient moves directly to a computerized tomography (CT) scanner, which will rapidly identify the type of stroke they are having – one caused by bleeding in the brain, by a blockage or by a blood clot that interrupted blood flow to the brain.
Other diagnostic procedures the stroke team uses include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for high-definition detail to find damage, especially in small vessels, and positron emission tomography (PET) scan, which measures brain cell metabolism to determine brain function.
If needed, vascular neurologists can arrive via video within minutes to any Powers Health hospital Emergency Department through TeleStroke technology. With TeleStroke, the vascular neurologist remotely reviews CT scans, vital signs and patient history and engages the patient and bedside team in a real-time, complex neurological assessment. TeleStroke technology allows the physician to view the patient through a high-powered camera to be able to identify things such as facial droop or pupil changes.
The neurologist works with Emergency Department clinical staff to quickly determine a plan of care for the emergency physician to initiate.
Patients who arrive at a Powers Health hospital within four hours of the onset of symptoms may benefit from tissue plasminogen activator, a clot-busting drug that restores blood flow to limit damage to the brain.
Treatment is tailored to each patient. Powers Health neuro specialists are skilled at complex interventions, such as mechanical thrombectomy, carotid stent placement and other surgical procedures in a specialized hybrid operating suite to restore blood flow to the brain for optimal patient recovery.
At a Comprehensive Stroke Center, such as Community Hospital, procedures include mechanical thrombectomy for acute stroke, cerebral diagnostic angiography, stenting of occlusive lesions, aneurysm clipping and coiling, decompressive craniotomy and more.
As the healing process progresses, Therapy Services across Powers Health step in to help stroke patients set and meet goals to restore quality of life. Powers Health also facilitates stroke support groups for finding a network of community during recovery.
