Eighteen months of groundwork has culminated in a new designation for Shuswap Lake General Hospital and better care and outcomes for stroke patients. Last week, the hospital was designated as a thrombolytic centre for the treatment of stroke. Patients who arrive at the local emergency department with an acute stroke will now be able to receive thrombolytic drugs used to clear blocked arteries instead of travelling to Kamloops for treatment – if the treatment is appropriate. Dr. Darren Lorenz, head of the hospital’s ER department, says stroke patients first undergo a CT scan. “We want to make sure there is no bleeding on the brain,” he says, of the drugs which are also known as clot-busters. “If there is blood in the head, we don’t want to make them bleed more.” But the treatment and care for patients who have suffered strokes goes way beyond clot-busting drugs. As well as having 24-7 access to the CT scanner, recognizing the type of stroke a person is having and caring for them post-stroke are critical to successful outcomes. Nurse Rob LaBelle is a member of the hospital’s five-member stroke team. He is one of a group of nurses who have taken “Hemispheres Stroke Competency” training, enhanced specialized training for stroke care. “It goes above and beyond basic stroke skills,” says LaBelle, noting care is provided in a special “stroke-preferred bed” with special equipment and space to accommodate several caregivers. “If they receive (thrombolytic) drugs in emerge, they’ll stay there until they’re stabilized, then move to ICU for a minimum of 12 hours so they can be monitored, then move to the stroke-preferred bed,” says LaBelle, pointing out the importance of having dedicated trained nurses and a designated place so everyone knows that the bed houses an acute stroke victim. “We hope patients will recover more quickly and more fully.” Lorenz says the hospital worked with the BC Stroke Collaborative for 18 months to reach the goal of providing a more efficient and consistent care for TIA (transient ischemic attacks) and strokes in Salmon Arm. Lorenz says the program began with providing information to members of the public through brochures at doctors’ offices and training ambulance paramedics on how to assess and care for stroke victims. “We ask a lot of the ambulance (paramedics) and they’re doing a great job,” says Lorenz, who noted consistency is another important factor in providing top-notch care. “We introduced standardized order sheets and audit charts to make sure that was done.” While he describes the ability to provide optimum ER care as “exciting and a glamorous,” he emphasizes the importance of the post-stroke care. “The fact we are now able to offer this treatment opens up a lot of doors for a lot of the area including Revelstoke.”  Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada, 50,000 strokes occur per year in Canada and 300,000 Canadians live with the disability resulting from stroke.  Everyone could help reduce these statistics by remembering ‘FAST: Face, Arm, Speech, Time.’ If the face is drooping on one side, or there is weakness in one arm, or if speech sounds slurred or strange, it is time to call 911 – fast.

Eagle Valley News