Osceola Regional Medical Center recently celebrated the first anniversary of its Comprehensive Stroke Center, which opened on August 21, 2017, and is the only Comprehensive Stroke Center in Osceola County. In the past year, the hospital has treated more than 1,000 stroke patients, of which 228 underwent interventional stroke procedures.
A Comprehensive Stroke Center has the ability to provide more advanced stroke treatments than primary stroke centers, which means patients suffering from all types of strokes (including severe cases such as large brain clots and hemorrhages) can now receive immediate care closer to home - a critical factor, as immediate assessment and treatment has been proven to reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chances of a permanent disability.
The Comprehensive Stroke Center at Osceola Regional offers advanced imaging capabilities, including the 3D Biplane Imaging System and 256 Slice CT Scanner, which are key in endovascular interventions used to rapidly return blood flow to affected areas of the brain.
Osceola Regional Medical Center provides 24/7 access to minimally invasive stroke procedures, on-site physicians, dedicated Neuro Intensive Care Unit, Neuro Telemetry Unit, and an Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. The hospital's Comprehensive Stroke Center is staffed with a specially trained team of Neuro-Interventionalists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons and healthcare professionals. The core stroke team includes physicians, residents, nurse practitioners, stroke coordinator, and ancillary staff.
Osceola Regional has also received the highest honors from American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award and Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital's commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
"Celebrating a year of comprehensive stroke care is a major milestone for our team, and for the community," said Dr. Ankur Garg, Neuro-Interventionalist and Medical Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Osceola Regional Medical Center. The treatments we provide at Osceola Regional can mean dramatically better outcomes and quality of life for stroke patients ... many times we see patients walking out on their own when discharged, versus suffering a life-changing disability."
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
