UCLA Health launches pioneering mobile stroke unit with support from L.A. County

Roughly every 40 seconds, someone in the United States will have a stroke. Almost every four minutes, one of those people will die as a result. Against that backdrop, UCLA Health has officially launched the first mobile stroke unit on the West Coast, enabling rapid delivery of brain-saving medications to stroke patients who might otherwise face debilitating delays in treatment.  As part of the first phase of a pilot program, the specialized ambulance unit and highly trained personnel began responding in September to select 911 calls in Santa Monica in coordination with the Santa Monica Fire Department. With support from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the unit ’s range will soon expand to other parts of Los Angeles County, possibly including Compton, Carson, Long Beach and Westwood. Ultimately, program organizers hope, the unit will operate in other areas of the county and may be the first of a fleet of four to nine units serving the entire county.“Rapid response is critical, because the sooner a stroke is treated, the better the patient’s outcome,” said Dr. May Nour, medical director of the UCLA Arline and Henry Gluck Stroke Rescue Program. “We know from research at UCLA that in a typical stroke, every minute that goes by without tre atment, 2 million brain cells die.”A mobile stroke unit is a unique type of ambulance equipped with a mobile CT scanner, which allows doctors to diagnose and treat strokes in the field with appropriate medications. With...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news