Easton Hospital (pictured) is partnering with St. Luke’s University Health Network to help treat stroke patients faster. (FILE PHOTO)
Easton Hospital, a member of the Steward Health Care family, and St. Luke’s University Health Network have announced a new partnership and clinical affiliation that will provide tele-stroke services to stroke patients at Easton Hospital.
Tele-stroke is the advanced telecommunications technology that enables real-time delivery of care via audio and video between different locations.
Easton Hospital, a certified Primary Stroke Center, and St. Luke’s, a Comprehensive Stroke Center, formed the partnership to better serve patients in Easton and across the region with stroke symptoms that require immediate treatment.“Every minute during a stroke episode, your brain ages by three weeks,” said Dr. Tariq Mahmood, a neurologist at Easton Hospital. “Our team at Easton Hospital is trained to care for stroke patients and if a patient is nearby and experiencing stroke symptoms, it is important to ‘think F.A.S.T.’ and seek care at the closest certified stroke center.”
F.A.S.T. stands for “face, arms, speech and time” and is an acronym that is used to identify stroke symptoms. A person experiencing a stroke may display drooping or numbness on one side of their face, weakness or numbness in their arms and difficulty talking or slurred speech.
“In stroke care where ‘time is brain’ and every second counts, the ability to care for the patient as quickly as possible is critical in making life-saving decisions,” said Daniel Ackerman, MD, Director of Stroke and Vascular Neurology at St. Luke’s. “Working together, Easton Hospital and St. Luke’s will improve stroke outcomes throughout Easton and surrounding areas.”
As a Comprehensive Stroke Center, St. Luke’s is one of 163 hospitals nationwide (and one of 11 in Pennsylvania) to offer the most advanced level of stroke care.
“St. Luke’s Comprehensive Stroke Center designation means that St. Luke’s can partner with Easton Hospital to provide care for the entire range of different types of strokes, and that stroke patients can receive state-of-the-art care in their own community,” said Jonathan Hosey, MD, Chairman of St. Luke’s Center for Neuroscience.
Someone in America suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S., killing about 130,000 people each year, according to the American Stroke Association.
“Easton Hospital and St. Luke’s are neighbors joining forces for the benefit of their community,” said St. Luke’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Strategy Officer Hal L. Folander, MD, who also serves as the Network Chairman for Radiology. “This is a win for both organizations and, most importantly, for patients who can receive quality stroke care close to home.”
Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
