The UCLA Stroke Center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center will be part of a new stroke-certified hospital system that has the potential to greatly improve response times, treatments and overall outcomes for those who suffer a stroke in Los Angeles County.
THe new Primary Stroke Center system will involve Emergency Medical Services and nine participating hospitals certified as primary stroke centers.
The result of cooperative work between hospitals and other stakeholders — including the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, EMS and the ASA — the program includes a policy that provides for the transport of select 911 stroke patients to a primary stroke center, rather than to the nearest hospital, in order to optimize care and minimize disability or death.
“We are very proud to be launching this regional system of organized pre-hospital care and designated Primary Stroke Center hospitals in Los Angeles County,” said Dr. Jeffrey Saver, director of the UCLA Stroke Center and one of the lead physicians working on the project. “This launch is a great first step toward our objective of ensuring that anyone in Los Angeles who suffers a stroke will have quick access to brain-saving, standard-of-care treatment.”
“Stroke centers provide a continuum of care, from initial assessment through hospitalization and rehabilitation,” said Dr. William Koenig, medical director of Los Angeles County EMS. “Providing a focused approach, with dedicated stroke nursing and hospital beds, benefitsstroke patients. Through this collaboration, we anticipate the network of primary stroke centers will grow throughout the county in the months to come.”
In addition to the UCLA Stroke Center, the following facilities have been designated as approved stroke centers: Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center–San Pedro, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Torrance Memorial Medical Center and Los Alamitos Medical Center in Orange County.
KNOWING WHEN TO CALL…….
Call 911 immediately if you experience, or observe in someone else, one or more of the following signs:
– sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body;
– sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding;
– sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination;
– severe headache with no known cause.
Visit www.strokeassociation.org for more information.
