Athol
Memorial Hospital
Designated as Primary Stroke
Center
March 13,
2006
Athol
Memorial Hospital has been formally
approved by the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health as a
Primary Stroke Center, retroactive
to the conclusion of their survey on
February 28, 2006.
This means that suspected
stroke victims can be quickly
diagnosed and treated in Athol
Memorial Hospital’s Emergency
Department, and appropriate drugs
administered, within the critical
window of time to be most effective. The hospital has implemented
Brain Saving Technologies’
state-of-the-art telemedicine
equipment, which makes it possible
to videoconference with a
neurologist at a tertiary facility
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Patients who show signs of
stroke may now be seen and evaluated
in real time by both the consulting
neurologist and Athol Memorial
Hospital’s emergency physician.
The system also makes it
possible for the physicians to
simultaneously view diagnostic CAT
scans and communicate with each
other, as well as the patient, to
determine the best course of
treatment. Clinical trials have
established that thrombolytic (clot
busting) therapy drugs are most
effective for treating ischemic
stroke when administered within
three hours of the onset of
symptoms.
“The
morbidity and mortality for stroke
victims can be lessened if clot
busting medications can be given
intravenously within three hours of
the onset of symptoms,” stated John
Skrzypczak, MD, Athol Memorial
Hospital’s Director of Emergency
Medicine. “Quick
decisions can be made to give or not
give thrombolytics.
The time sensitive nature of
this therapy requires that acute
stroke patients be transported to
hospitals that are prepared to
rapidly diagnose and treat the
condition.
Primary Stroke Service regulations
were developed to ensure that
patients receive the best possible
outcomes. Athol Memorial Hospital began
preparing for Department of Public
Health approval as a Primary Stroke
Center last year.
The process involved
establishing a multidisciplinary
“stroke team”, headed by John
Thayer, RN, Emergency Department
Manger, to put the necessary
protocols in place.
All hospital staff members
have been taught to recognize the
signs and symptoms of stroke, and
the entire Emergency Department
staff has received extensive
training on stroke treatment and use
of the videoconferencing technology.Additionally, Pam Jobst, RN,
Outreach Case Manager and Public
Health Nurse, has been educating
community members at blood pressure
clinics and visits to local schools
about the signs and symptoms of
stroke.
The hospital plans to
continue providing stroke education
opportunities throughout the region. Stroke, or “brain attack” is
the third leading cause of death and
the leading cause of adult
disability. If
you have, or see someone, with one
or more of the following symptoms,
immediately
call 911:
- Sudden numbness or weakness
of face, arm, or leg, especially on
one side of the body
- Sudden confusion or trouble
speaking or understanding speech
- Sudden trouble seeing in one
or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking,
dizziness, or loss of balance or
coordination
- Sudden severe headache with
no known cause
Risk factors for stroke
include high blood pressure,
cigarette smoking, heart disease,
diabetes, and transient ischemic
attacks (TIA’s—small strokes that
lasting for only a few minutes or
hours).
For
more information on stroke and the
Primary Stroke Service at Athol
Memorial Hospital, please call
Community Relations at (978)
249-3511 x143.
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