Vim & Vigor - Winter 2016 - Community Healthcare - 6

RIGHT PLACE,

RIGHT TIME
Hospitals of Community Healthcare
System provide expert, timely care
for stroke survivors BY ELISE SIMS

W IN TER 2 0 1 6

commitment and success in
treating stroke patients with
the most appropriate, timely
care according to national
guidelines based on scientific evidence.
Stroke occurs when a blood
vessel to the brain ruptures or is
blocked by a clot. The loss of oxygen and nutrients causes brain cells
to die. Physical disabilities as well as
difficulties with thinking and speaking
may result from damage to the brain.
Immediate treatment is crucial to survival and reducing long-term disability.
"One of the most important aspects
of caring for stroke patients is ensuring
that there is the same high standard of
care delivered in a timely, efficient manner," says Neurologist Andrea DeLeo,
DO, MSE, medical director of the Stroke
Care program at St. Catherine Hospital.
"A dedicated stroke unit reduces mortality and improves overall outcomes
for patients. We have worked diligently
to collaborate and customize patient
services, from the emergency department to rehabilitation, to provide each
individual who comes to any of the
Community Healthcare System hospitals for stroke treatment with the best
possible experience and recovery."

In addition to the Get With The
Guidelines award, St. Catherine Hospital
has also been recognized as a recipient of the associations' Target: Stroke
Honor Roll, for improving stroke care.
This means that at least 50 percent of
St. Catherine Hospital's eligible ischemic stroke patients (those with a
blood clot) receive the clot-busting
drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, within 60 minutes of arriving at the hospital. This is known as
"door-to-needle" time.

PHOTO BY THINKSTOCK

Virgil Powell, Liz Breslin and
Tom Liubakka all agree that
they are here today because
they were in the right place at the right
time. They are enjoying the things they
love to do again because of the timely
stroke care and rehabilitation therapies
they received at the hospitals of
Community Healthcare System.
It takes a whole team of professionals
working together to ensure that people
don't just survive a stroke, but recover
with as few lasting complications as
possible. The hospitals' dedicated team
includes neurologists, neurosurgeons,
neuroradiologists, clinical nurse specialists, registered nurses, emergency
medical personnel, and therapy and
rehabilitation professionals. This team
begins its intervention from the first
point of contact with the patient, usually in the Emergency department.
For their work to optimize the care
of stroke patients, Community Hospital
in Munster, St. Mary Medical Center
in Hobart and St. Catherine Hospital
in East Chicago have been presented
with the American Heart Association/
American Stroke Association's Get With
The Guidelines® - Stroke Silver Plus
Quality Achievement Award. The award
recognizes the hospitals' staff for its

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2016 - Community Healthcare