When Time Is Critical: How Involving Frontline Health Workers Can Improve Stroke Survival Rates

By Carmen Graffagnino, Neurologist, Duke Hospital ; Nilima Mehta , Philanthropy program manager, Medtronic Foundation ; Anne Katharine Wales, Senior philanthropy portfolio lead, Medtronic FoundationApril 09, 2019Here are three ways to change a system of acute care.April 10 started as an ordinary day for Sarah. But while eating breakfast, her husband noticed that her face had started to droop and she was unable to find her words. Immediately he called 911.Within 10 minutes, the ambulance arrived with emergency medical services (EMS), a segment of the local health system that recently became partners in a new regional model for stroke care in North Carolina.EMS quickly identified Sarah as a possible stroke victim and called the hospital to alert the stroke team to be ready for her arrival. Ten minutes later, Sarah was at the hospital and receiving scans that confirmed her stroke. Fifteen minutes later, Sarah received medication to dissolve the clot that had caused it. She was taken to the interventional radiology suite, where the neurosurgeon operated.Survival rates shouldn ’t be determined by luck.Three hours later, Sarah woke up in the recovery room, fully alert and without any neurological deficits. She could speak and her facial drooping had resolved. Her husband breathed a sigh of incredible relief.Sarah was one of the lucky ones.Time is critical when dealing with a stroke and other acute events. But survival rates shouldn ’t be determined by luck. The best chanc...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Noncommunicable Diseases Education & Performance Private-Sector Approaches SwitchPoint Health Workforce Systems USA Source Type: news