Greater Regional Health has become Primary Stroke certified this month, which is also National Stroke Awareness Month. Stroke coordinator Brittni Schmidt said Greater Regional Health has been trying to get certified for over a year.
“Greater Regional Health started pursuing the DNV Primary Stroke Center Certification in March 2020,” Schmidt said. “This took effort from the entire facility as there are so many moving parts in being a successful Primary Stroke Center. It was truly an interdisciplinary approach, from emergency medical services through following up with primary care doctors. A person who experiences a stroke will be cared for by many healthcare providers.”
Certification is acquired by a survey process conducted by the DNV to review patient outcomes, assess care, visit patient care settings among other things.
Clinical educator Brooke Owen said when someone is showing symptoms of a stroke, time is of the essence.
“Treatment of a stroke is time-sensitive so if any symptoms or signs are noticed it is important to call 911 or get to the nearest hospital immediately,” Owen said. “BE FAST is an acronym that was created to help educate people on what symptoms to look for. BE FAST stands for balance, eyes, face, arm, speech, time. If a person seems off balance or dizzy, is having visual disturbance such as double vision or blurred vision, facial drooping on one side, is weaker in one arm or leg, is having slurred or incompressible speech time is of the essence and that person needs to get to the hospital immediately.”
Owen also said there are many ways for someone to reduce their risk of having a stroke.
“Don’t smoke and limit secondhand smoking,” she said. “Improve your eating habits by eating foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars. Be physically active. Take any medications prescribed by your doctor. Check your blood pressure regularly and talk to your doctor if it is high. Maintain a healthy weight. Decrease stress. Have regular medical checkups.”
When stroke victims are being treated, Schmidt said patients can expect to have lab tests, x-ray imaging, rehabilitation evaluations, vital sign monitoring, education on strokes and close monitoring by stroke certified staff.
Beyond treatment, Owen said nurses take every patient’s case differently when rehabilitating stroke victims.
“Stroke victims needs are personalized depending on the part of the brain that was injured,” Owen said. “This means the rehabilitation services will vary from victim to victim. Rehabilitation services at Greater Regional Health include speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. Therapy can happen while the person is in the hospital as well as on an outpatient basis after the patient is discharged. There are also inpatient rehabilitation facilities that are sometimes needed for the more severe strokes.”