With every stroke, you’re losing over three weeks of brain aging for every minute that passes. This clearly shows that quick intervention is critical. As stroke awareness month wraps up, we give you an inside look at how the region's only comprehensive stroke center works to ensure every stroke is treated quickly and effectively.
“With stroke, we say time is brain, so immediately recognizing the stroke symptoms and getting appropriate treatment is so important,” said Caitlin Hof, MD, a neurologist with Avera Medical Group Neurology.
Dr. Hof is just one of the neuro-hospitalists at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center. A member of this stroke care team is on the floor 24/7, 365 to quickly intervene whenever a stroke happens.
“So if they're coming in through triage, there's a triage nurse who will immediately alert, if they're concerned for a stroke, the ER physician who will walk over. It's a few steps to evaluate the patient,” said Dr. Hof.
immediately after, there's an overhead announcement that springs the remaining members of the stroke team into action.
“Our team of nurses and the physician on call will go running to the emergency department. We're analyzing the patient. We're getting their vitals done. We're checking some labs. We're doing our first assessment and really trying to get a sense of what happened,” said Dr. Hof.
After the patient has been moved from the ER to the CT scanner, nurses continue assessment to seeing exactly what parts of the body have been affected by the stroke. The neurologist reviews the images and works to determine if the patient is a candidate for a thrombolytic treatment or if the stroke is large enough that they need a thrombectomy.
It’s a job that keeps her on her toes, but between the trips to the ER for stroke codes, Dr. Hof is rounding on patients in the hospital, collaborating with partners and is ready to assist on stroke intervention outside of the building.
“Our typical day, we will be on the phone and available immediately also for all of the hospitals within the region and the Avera system as well. We'll take phone calls, speak with the physicians, we'll be reviewing those scans, the labs, and see what's the most appropriate treatment course for those patients,” said Dr. Hof.
Patients like Cal Harms in Northwest Iowa.
“I feel like I'm really lucky, because as far as I can tell, I came out of the stroke about as good as I could have,” said Harms.
He felt weakness in his leg and his wife noticed a drooping in one eye; those signs told them they had to get to the hospital.
He spent six days in Sioux Falls after his stroke so the team could closely monitor the blood clot in his brain. He’s now back home and able to work on his recovery at Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake, Iowa.
"I'm working a little bit with my balance because I was still kind off... My balance is quite a bit better now, but the first time I was here was kind of... kind of iffy on things, you know?" said Harms.
Like Cal said, he’s one of the lucky ones. Stories like his show the importance of quick intervention and are a big reason why Dr. Hof chose this specialty.
"Treating patients with strokes is my favorite part of my job. Having the ability to be able to intervene quickly and safely to help prevent disability is what's most important to me. We're able to rehab patients after the fact, but fast notification, fast recognition, and fast treatment truly can make a difference in preventing disability for patients for years to come," said Dr. Hof.
If you think you or a loved one is experiencing a stroke, it's common to want to drive yourself, but please call 911 so that the intervention process can start even sooner and stroke teams can be ready and waiting in the ambulance bay.
