Emergency Department is Home to TeleStroke Network
For anyone suffering a stroke, time is of the utmost importance for several reasons:
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Warning Signs of a Stroke Can
Include the Sudden Onset of:
- Numbness or weakness of the face, arm
or leg, especially on one side of the body
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Confusion
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Difficulty speaking or understanding
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Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
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Problems with walking
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Dizziness, loss of balance and coordination
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Severe headache with no known cause
Call 911 immediately if you think
you could be having a stroke.
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The longer someone goes without treatment for a stroke, the more damage and permanent disability that can be done to the brain
- Strokes are treated with a drug that breaks up the clot, called “tissue plasminogen activator;” medical personnel call it “tPA” for short
- To be most effective, tPA must be administered to the patient as soon as possible -- within the first three hours -- after the onset of stroke symptoms
A Network of Hospitals Providing Stroke Care
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Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Physicians
Vascular neurosurgeons, neurologists, emergency medicine
specialists, neuro-intensivists, interventional neuroradiologists
and neurorehabilitation specialists compose the Stroke &
Cerebrovascular Center’s team of specialists.
Back row: Renee Van Stavern, MD; David Carpenter, MD;
Gregory Zipfel, MD; Colin Derdeyn, MD - Stroke Center
director; Andria Ford, MD
Front row: Peter Panagos, MD - neurovascular emergencies
director; Jin-Moo Lee, MD - head of cerebrovascular disease |
Progress West HealthCare Center (PWHC) and Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital (BJSPH) have joined the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine's stroke care network.
This health care alliance speeds the process of assessing a patient’s condition, and -- if that patient is having a stroke -- treating that stroke as soon as possible.
Less than one percent of all acute care hospitals in the country are on
the "Target: Stroke Honor Roll." This distinction reflects the commitment
of the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish stroke team to making
sure all patients have the best acute stroke care possible.
- Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD |
Robotic Telemedicine Makes Long-Distance Stroke Diagnosis Possible
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The TeleStroke robot permits an off-site specialist to see and
hear the patient.
Watch a Demo >
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Even if a complicated stroke patient is in St. Charles County, that patient can be examined by stroke and cerebrovascular specialists, who are miles away at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, thanks to a robot with a highly sensitive "eyes and ears."
The TeleStroke robot's enhanced audio and video capabilities allow the remotely located specialist to hear slightly slurred speech, see subtle physical cues, and test cognitive and behavioral functions of the patient.
The robot also transmits the patient’s medical data to the off-site physician. This “long-distance bedside” interaction enables the emergency physician and neurologist to remotely review patient information, examine and talk with the patient, and speak with family members and local clinicians to determine if a stroke is in progress.
A quicker stroke diagnosis can lead to earlier administration of the all-important, clot-breaking tPA drug. This could greatly reduce the number of disabling strokes.
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The robot is effective in helping us collaborate with the Progress West
HealthCare Center emergency staff to get patients diagnosed and
initiate appropriate treatment as quickly as possible.
- Renee Van Stavern, MD
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Stroke Network Team
 Linda Canoy, RN
Stroke Network Coordinator, PWHC and BJSPH
With more than 15 years of critical-care experience, Linda Canoy, RN, is well-suited for the role of Stroke Network Coordinator. She established pre-arrival procedures with EMS staff to help them recognize stroke symptoms in patients in transit. This early stroke detection allows more time for treatment when the patient arrives in the Emergency Department.
Canoy documents the data and coordinates the procedures needed for PWHC to qualify as a Level III Stroke-Ready hospital and for BJSPH to qualify as a Level II Primary Stroke Center.
 Leo Hsu, MD
Emergency Department Medical Director at Progress West HealthCare Center
Leo Hsu, MD, is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and has been an active member of the Progress West medical staff since June 2007. He is very familiar with the team members, has helped implement policies, and continues to contribute to the growth and success of the emergency department and hospital.
Dr. Hsu completed a fellowship in Pathology at St. Louis University and recently earned a Masters in Divinity. In addition to being board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Hsu is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church.
 Jane Puszkar, RN
Stroke Network Consultant, Neuroscience Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital
"Telemedicine works,” says Jane Puszkar, RN. “Based on our successful pilot at BJC’s Parkland Health Center, we know telemedicine is a win-win for the hospital and especially the patients.
Thanks to the TeleStroke robot, Progress West patients receive immediate stroke consultation with Washington University experts in neurosurgery and neurology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This means deciding between on-site treatment and rapid transfer can be done very quickly."
Meet STAN
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From left: STAN, TeleStroke Network Robot;
Trevor Wolfe, RN, emergency department |
Since the staff members of Progress West's Emergency Department are going to be working with the TeleStroke Network robot quite a bit, they decided it needed a name. Trevor Wolfe, an RN in the emergency department, suggested the name “STAN” for two reasons:
First, Trevor’s father Stan Wolfe is, unfortunately, no stranger to strokes. He has experienced three of the “brain attacks,” with one of them landing him in a nursing home for nearly a year.
Stan Wolfe was not expected to fully recuperate, and was even told he would never again lead a meaningful life. Happily, Stan ignored those dire predictions and made a full recovery.
In honor of his father’s resolve to battle the strokes' effects, Trevor created an acronym for the robot using his father's name: System To Assist Neuro-stroke team
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