Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare - 51

St. Catherine Hospital is an accredited Chest Pain Center and Primary
Stroke Center. The hospital earned
the American Heart Association/
American Stroke Association's Get
With the Guidelines® Gold Plus Quality
Achievement Award and Target: Stroke
Honor Roll Elite Award in 2017, also
from the American Heart Association/
American Stroke Association, for its
commitment to stroke care.
To earn the association awards, the
hospital must meet scientific Get With
the Guidelines® standards as a Primary
Stroke Center over time to rapidly diagnose and treat stroke patients admitted
to the Emergency department.
Today, Romero says the action taken
by the stroke team specialists was the
work of angels. Those "angels" are
St. Catherine Hospital's healthcare team,
including stroke care coordinators,
neurosurgeons, cardiologists, registered
nurses and therapists. The stroke care
team, led by Suzanna Gonzalez, RN,
nurse manager of ICU, adheres to the
American Heart Association/American
Stroke Association guidelines that
resulted in Romero's positive outcome.
"His success story hinges on fast
detection, starting treatment sooner,"
Swenson explains.
Romero, then 45, had displayed classic signs of a stroke. In addition to
his blurred vision and disorientation,

Romero's blood pressure had plummeted to 50/30. His hands were icecold. Emergency Services' Katrina
Mattingly, MD, and ED Charge Nurse
Cheryl Passe sounded the stroke alert.
Within a few minutes, the stroke care
team was examining the results of a
computerized tomography (CT) scan
to learn Romero had a blood clot in
the brain. The team started Romero on
the clot-busting agent tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) within 30 minutes
of his arrival to restore blood flow to
his brain.
A thrombolytic, tPA is the only drug
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for the urgent treatment of ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after
the start of stroke symptoms, tPA
can significantly reduce the effects of
stroke and permanent disability.
Minutes after the therapy had begun,
a tear in the major artery in Romero's
chest was also discovered.
"So besides working on the blood
clot in Mr. Romero's brain, we had to
rush to surgery for an acute dissection
in his chest that needed to be closed
right away," Swenson recalls.
"Patients who seek care at
St. Catherine Hospital can count
on advanced diagnostic and treatment technology," explains Leo
Correa, chief executive officer. "All of

WEBSITE

Seal of Approval
St. Catherine Hospital earned the American Heart/Stroke Association's
Get With the Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement and
Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite awards in 2017. Visit comhs.org.

Romero still sends thank-you cards to the
stroke team that saved his life.

our Community Healthcare System
hospitals are committed to treating stroke and heart patients with
appropriate, timely care according to
national guidelines."
The system network of hospitals,
which also include Community Hospital
and St. Mary Medical Center, have
earned the Gold Seal of Approval™
from the Joint Commission as Primary
Stroke Centers.
"We understand the importance of
treating quickly with tPA, and we also
rely on evidence-based research to
learn why a stroke happened and to
report the findings," Correa says.
Romero says he has learned life isn't
about yourself as much as it is about
caring for others. "I can't thank them
often enough," he adds.
But Romero does, through the
Christmas toy drives he conducts for
Indiana Harbor Lighthouse Church
and volunteer work to help the homeless. He spends precious time with his
daughter, Sophia. He delivers cards,
family photos and hugs to hospital staff
on the anniversary of his treatment.
The cards say, "Thank you for
another year of life." ■

W INT E R 2 01 7

http://www.comhs.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Community Healthcare