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Protocols dictate that paramedics must transport stroke patients to designated stroke centers, said Prashanth Krishnamohan, MD, medical director of neurology at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare. While a person with stroke-like symptoms could go to the emergency room and be treated there, they could not be taken by ambulance.
In the spring of 2019, Krishnamohan and Ferrer helped launch the Stroke Program at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare, establishing a coordinated system for the treatment of stroke patients. That fall, the hospital has been certified as a primary stroke center by the Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit that assesses and accredits healthcare organizations.
This certification affirms that a hospital has the capabilities to effectively treat stroke patients and is one of the criteria used by county health departments to determine which hospitals can receive stroke patients.
Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare now offers the Tri-Valley community 24/7 access to stroke-trained neurologists.
Respond to a community need
“One of the main reasons for creating the stroke program was that the community asked for it,” said Krishnamohan, who is also clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery and neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford Medicine.
The ValleyCare Charitable Foundation, which recently merged with Stanford Medical Center Development, raised funds from hundreds of community members to fund the creation of the program. Livermore residents Lynn and Joan Seppala matched the donations.
“I am proud that the community supported us 100% to start this program,” said Ferrer, noting that the fundraising effort raised $ 1 million.
It took several months to develop the program, from educating everyone in the hospital about stroke to designing a stroke alert procedure. The goal was to speed things up and turn a sequential process into a parallel one, where staff – such as a neurologist, lab technician, radiologist, and pharmacist – would be informed at the same time of a new stroke and would know its role. .
All of these people work together to deliver care quickly, said Megan Akacsos, Stroke and Neurology Coordinator at Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare. The team’s effort extends to Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto, where neurologists can remotely examine patients in Pleasanton and help provide round-the-clock assistance.
Once Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare was certified as a primary stroke center, it was clear that the stroke program offered huge benefits.
“As soon as we became a Joint Commission certified stroke center, the volume of stroke patients tripled” – an indication that emergency stroke patients were being taken elsewhere for treatment, said Ferrer, the first person in charge of the stroke program. “There was definitely a need in our community for a stroke center.
Educate the community
The hospital began offering stroke training to community members when the ValleyCare Charitable Foundation raised funds for the stroke program. At the time, Krishnamohan gave about two dozen talks in retreat centers, churches and other community venues on stroke awareness. Months later, he saw patients who recognized their stroke symptoms and knew how to call 911 immediately.
In recognition of the success of the stroke program, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare recently received the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment in accordance with nationally recognized, research-based guidelines created from the latest scientific evidence.
The Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare stroke program continues to grow and develop. For example, the program team is establishing a support group for outpatient stroke survivors to provide ongoing support to them, their families and caregivers.
“We want to make sure that our stroke survivors not only survive, but also thrive once they leave the hospital,” Akacsos said.
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