MOBILE INFIRMARY
RECOGNIZED AS
PRIMARY
STROKE
CENTER
Each year in the United States, nearly 800,000 people
experience a stroke. On average, every 40seconds
someone suffers a stroke and every 3.1 minutes a
person dies of a stroke. It is the third leading cause
of death in the country, surpassed only by heart
attack and cancer. However, early intervention
and groundbreaking treatments have significantly
improved recovery and survival rates, with 4.7million
survivors living today.
From the moment a patient showing stroke symptoms
enters Mobile Infirmary, a team of as many as 100 physicians,
surgeons, nurses, lab technicians, radiologists and therapists are
prepared to care for that person.
IN GOOD HANDS
Mobile Infirmary is one of only three hospitals in Alabama
certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center.
Care starts with initial diagnosis to determine treatment, which
may include surgery, and continues through rehabilitation.
“There is a tremendous coordination of care,” says hospital
administrator Joe Stough. “And it’s not about just doing it right;
it’s about doing it perfectly.”
In addition to receiving the Gold Seal of Approval from
The Joint Commission, Mobile Infirmary’s stroke program is
also nationally recognized by the American Heart Association
and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
Stroke patients usually enter through the emergency
department, where physicians and nurses are trained to
recognize the symptoms:
»
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg;
»
Sudden di¬culty speaking or understanding;
»
Di¬culty seeing in one or both eyes;
»
Sudden di¬culty walking or loss of balance or coordination;
»
Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
WHY TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
A person should seek immediate help when symptoms
appear. If administered within three hours of the start of
symptoms, a clot-busting drug—tissue plasminogen activator
(TPA)—may reduce long-term disability for the most common
type of stroke.
“Results are remarkable,” explains Fritz A. Lacour, M.D.
“Thirty percent more of those who receive TPA than of those
who do not receive it have a full or near-full recovery with
little or no residual eects. Time lost is brain lost with a stroke.
Immediate action is required, so it is important to dial 911
as quickly as possible. Emergency medical technicians are
trained to expedite patients to the emergency room so proper
evaluation can begin.”
Care for stroke patients is provided by a team of neurologists,
neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and physicians specializing
in rehabilitation. Such extensive, around-the-clock treatment is
available in this region only at Mobile Infirmary.
For patients requiring rehabilitation afterward, J.L. Bedsole/
Rotary Rehabilitation Hospital at Mobile Infirmary provides
an innovative STEPS (Stroke Treatment, Education, Prevention
and Safety) program to assist themwith independence and
self-su¬ciency.
The NESS L300, a state-of-the-art therapy, uses mild
electrical stimulation of nerves and muscles to help stroke
patients walk again.
For more information about the Stroke Center
at Mobile Infirmary, visit our website,
www.mobileinfirmary.org/strokecenter.
11
INFIRMARY HEALTH
STROKE CARE
STROKE CARE