Community Outreach
Stroke awareness and education should not begin only after a person is hospitalized; it should begin before a person ever experiences a stroke. Stroke prevention is key in improving our community’s overall health, and symptom recognition is of utmost importance in reducing disability. Because of this, our stroke program members work every year to educate our entire community on these topics.
In 2021, stroke leadership have hit the ground running, having already presented to several local schools and Fort Bend county faith leaders, with several more presentations scheduled through the spring.
If you know an organization or group that would be interested in learning this lifesaving information from the experts, the stroke team is interested in partnering with you to bring this information to them. Please email fsmacdonnell@houstonmethodist.org for more information.
Neurological Assessment Progress Report
Frequent neurological assessments for all stroke patients continues to be a priority for HMSL. Last summer, these assessments were identified as an area to improve, and there has been great strides in completing neurological assessments every 4 hours.
HMSL’s threshold goal is to achieve 90% compliance as a hospital. The two graphs below show the results of the regular audits of patient’s charts. The first shows the hospital’s overall progress each month, and the second graph shows monthly compliance by nursing unit. Two units have successfully achieved the 90% goal, 5East in November 2020 and 6West in February 2021.
Every four hour assessments are critical to improve patient’s care and potential outcomes, please remember to complete these assessments.
2021 Stroke Education Corner
Every year, all members of the HMSL team (physicians & staff, clinical & non-clinical) are required to have education specifically focused on stroke. The required number of education hours is dependent on the job role. Please speak with your manager to determine how many hours of stroke education are required for your role, as the amount of hours may have changed recently.
Stroke Survivor and Caregiver Support Group Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for April 21 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Email neuroscience@houstonmethodist.org to register for this WebEx event.
Speedy Stroke Transfers
Kudos to Dr. Rivenes and Taylor Scott, RN and Susana Rosas, RN, for the fastest transfer to a CSC during January (113 minutes).
Kudos to Dr. Gardner, Tyler Burge, RN, and Sugar Land EMS team Yeung/Dickson for the fastest transfer to a CSC during February (81 minutes).
Speedy Alteplase Administration
Kudos to Dr. Martinez, Susana Rosas, RN, Jennifer Ramirez, RN, and Fort Bend EMS team McKenzie/Garcia for the fastest initiation of alteplase during January (33 minutes).
Kudos to Dr. Martinez, Teodora Lovina, RN, Andrea Lister, RN, and Fort Bend EMS team Ashworth/Wagner for the fastest initiation of alteplase during February (32 minutes).
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