Enough NCDs! Enough Stroke!

I see absolutely nothing here that even remotely suggests that there is any strategy and leadership that will solve all the problems in stroke.

This is just puffery, no one is taking responsibility.  The WSO has no leadership role that I have ever seen in stroke.

What fucking laziness and trying to run away from responsibility. WSO, stroke is in your name, that usually means YOU are responsible. I guess you are NO leader and would rather just sit on the sidelines, crying that governments and private entities need to solve stroke. Fuck, get the hell out of the way and let some leaders run your organization.

Enough NCDs! Enough Stroke!

In a few weeks world leaders will gather at the UN HLM in New York to review progress toward their commitment to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by 30% by 2030.

The World Stroke Organization, along with our partners in the NCD Alliance, has been active in advocating for increased awareness, access and action on NCD and stroke prevention. Our leadership recently made a statement as part of the UN preparations for the UN HLM which you can read elsewhere on this blog. Wow, ALL HAT AND NO CATTLE, get the hell out of the way and let some real leaders run things. No action verbs anywhere in here.

From September 3rd, the WSO is getting behind the Enough NCDs Week of Action and advocating for urgent action on stroke prevention and treatment as a mechanism to achieve global health and development goals. 

We have had enough of slow progress and failed promises on stroke prevention and treatment and we know that our impatience is shared by stroke survivors, caregivers, support and professional organisations around the world.  

To add your voice to ours and to increase the pressure on our leaders to take stroke seriously we are calling on the stroke community to get involved in the campaign. Our Enough Stroke! Enough NCDs Campaign Brief provides background information and resources including suggested tweets and Facebook posts to help you put stroke at the centre of the NCD debate. 

Other things you can do

• Check out the campaign resources that can complement your stroke messaging available from NCD Alliance campaign website.
• Find out if your local NCD Alliance has any on the ground activities planned and mobilise stroke supporters to get involved.
• Join the conversation on social media using hashtags #EnoughNCDs #EnoughStroke

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

St. E’s re-designated as “Emergent Stroke Ready Hospital” - Belleville, IL

So fucking what!. 'Care' NOT results. Damn it all, do something for survivors, like get them to 100% recovery. You lazy blithering idiots, thinking 'care' is what survivors want. 
Call the president and ask for results

1. Nothing on 100% recovery statistics.
2. Nothing on 30-day deaths compared to other hospitals.
3. Nothing on the efficacy of their stroke rehab protocols.
4.  Nothing on tPA full efficacy.
5. Nothing on their misdiagnosis percentage of strokes, especially young strokes.
Guidelines prove nothing.
You'll' want to know results so  
Call that President and Chief Executive Officer(Peg Sebastian)
general number  (618) 234-2120  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; tPA efficacy, 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, misdiagnosis percentage.
The wothless puffery article here:
http://www.bnd.com/news/local/community/ofallon-progress/article162494648.html
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital was recently re-designated as an Emergent Stroke Ready Hospital by the Illinois Department of Public Health for three years.
St. Elizabeth’s first achieved this this designation in 2014 by implementing emergency stroke care policies and procedures to align with nationally recognized evidence based standards and criteria, like those from the American Heart/Stroke Association and Brain Attack Coalition.
“The renewal of the Emergent Stroke Ready Hospital designation signifies that St. Elizabeth’s Hospital continues to provide high-quality stroke care to our patients,” said Amanda Ernst, coordinator for St. Elizabeth’s Teleneurology Stroke Program.
When a potential stroke patient arrives at St. Elizabeth’s, staff alerts an on-call expert for immediate consultation through telemedicine, or video conferencing. The specialized neurologist is then face-to-face with the patient, family members and Emergency Department staff in order to make an immediate diagnosis and begin advanced stroke treatment and interventions. This innovative technology allows residents from the metro east, to remain close to home, saving valuable time, when it matters most.
“It is important to catch a stroke early, but even more important to prevent strokes all together, which is why St. Elizabeth’s often educates our community about the signs and symptoms of stroke as well as what to do if symptoms present,” said Ernst. “Recognizing signs and symptoms of stroke and immediately calling 911 to be taken to an emergent stroke ready facility, like St. Elizabeth’s, can make a difference in the number of treatment options available and the overall outcome for stroke patients.”
For patients and families who are faced with managing the effects of stroke, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital offers a free stroke support group. The goal the group is to foster a better understanding of stroke recovery, rehabilitation and prevention of recurrent strokes while providing a way for stroke survivors to meet others with similar challenges.
The next meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 2:00 p.m. in the Millennium Room of the hospital, located on the first floor of the Prairie Heart Institute Building, 340 W. Lincoln St. in Belleville.
The upcoming session’s topic is “Social Worker Services” and will be presented by David Lysakowski, a clinical social worker from St. Elizabeth’s Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.
St. Elizabeth’s encourages the public to learn the signs and symptoms of stroke, which include:
▪ sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
▪ sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
▪ sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, sudden severe headache with no known cause
When symptoms present it’s important to act fast, by following the F.A.S.T. acronym:
▪ Face – Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
▪ Arms – Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
▪ Speech– Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
▪ Time – If you observe any of these signs, call 911 immediately.
For more information about stroke services at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, visit our web site at www.steliz.org, or for questions about the stroke support group, call 618-234-2120, ext. 1519.

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/news/local/community/ofallon-progress/article162494648.html#storylink=cpy

GPH awarded for stroke care, education efforts - North Platte, NE

So fucking what!. 'Care' NOT results. Damn it all, do something for survivors, like get them to 100% recovery. You lazy blithering idiots, thinking 'care' is what survivors want. 
Call the president and ask for results

1. Nothing on 100% recovery statistics.
2. Nothing on 30-day deaths compared to other hospitals.
3. Nothing on the efficacy of their stroke rehab protocols.
4.  Nothing on tPA full efficacy.
5. Nothing on their misdiagnosis percentage of strokes, especially young strokes.
Guidelines prove nothing.
You'll' want to know results so  
Call that chief executive officer(Mel McNea)
general number  (308) 568-8000  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; tPA efficacy, 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, misdiagnosis percentage.
The wothless puffery article here:
 http://www.nptelegraph.com/news/local_news/gph-awarded-for-stroke-care-education-efforts/article_a8089866-6f61-11e7-83b7-27901b8b9162.html

Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke, and every four minutes, someone dies of stroke, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for about one in 20 deaths. It is also a leading cause of serious long-term disability.

For stroke patients, getting the proper care quickly is vital to survival. Great Plains Health was recently recognized for its efforts in treating stroke patients. GPH is one of two hospitals in Nebraska that earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus achievement award. The North Platte hospital also received the AHA/ASA’s Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll Award.

At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, a representative from the associations will be at the Great Plains Health Education Center to present staff members with the award. The hospital will also be recognizing local first responders for their work to ensure that stroke patients get the care that they need.

“It’s a collective effort,” said Dr. Anil Kumar, a neurologist at Great Plains Health. “Different teams are working to save the brain.”

Most of the time, stroke patients are taken to the emergency room by crews from North Platte Fire and Rescue or fire departments from smaller communities who have requested a tiered response from North Platte, according to Fire Chief Dennis Thompson.

A stroke patient’s care usually starts with a 911 call. Thompson emphasized that people should be familiar with stroke symptoms and should call 911 immediately if someone appears to be having a stroke.

“Do not wait to see if signs and symptoms pass,” Thompson said. “Time is critical. The longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the risk of debilitating damage to the brain.”

Other conditions have symptoms similar to a stroke, said Robin Dimmit, an emergency room technician at Great Plains Health and a paramedic with the Stapleton Volunteer Fire Department.

“Sometimes it’s a diabetic emergency,” Dimmit said, adding that alcohol-related problems also can cause strokelike symptoms.

Regardless, she said, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Once an ambulance arrives, the patient is loaded up and given oxygen. An IV is started and vitals are monitored as the patient is rushed to the emergency department. Paramedics assess the patient so that their findings can be used by ER staff to determine how the patient’s condition is progressing.

The crew also calls a stroke code into the ER, which activates a team of staff members including a pharmacist, laboratory technician and radiologist who wait to meet the ambulance.

“When we arrive in the Emergency Department with a stroke patient, we stop only long enough to weigh the patient while they are on our cot and then take them directly to the Radiology Department for a CT (scan),” Thompson said.

While the patient is having the CT, the cot is taken back to the scale so it can be weighed separately. This allows ER staff to determine the patient’s weight and a pharmacist to figure the dose of a drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA.

“It’s a clot buster,” said Tonya Hinrichs, a pharmacist at Great Plains Health. “It will actually break up the clot in the brain that is causing the stroke.”

While tPA can be very effective, it can’t be used on many patients. Hinrichs explained that some patients may take medications that could cause an adverse reaction to tPA and could even result in death.

The time frame to use tPA is also limited, which is one of the reasons it’s so important to go to the hospital as soon as possible. Unfortunately, many people opt to wait to get treatment, said Chastity Orr, stroke program coordinator at Great Plains Health.

Farmers and ranchers can be particularly bad about trying to “rub dirt on it,” Orr said. They often think they’ll feel better if they lie down for a while, but doing so allows more irreparable damage to the brain to occur.

“In 1 to 2 seconds, a person can lose 32,000 brain cells depending on the location of their stroke,” Orr said. “That’s their mobility, their ability to talk, to eat, to recognize a family member, their behavior — everything that makes them able to function in their daily lives.”

Hinrichs said that when patients are brought in for a stroke, it’s important for someone to come with them or to be available to provide important information to the medical team, including the patient’s “last known normal.” It’s important for the staff to know when the patient was last seen acting normally so they can determine whether tPA can be administered.

“We’ve had patients come in alone,” Hinrichs said, explaining that this can be problematic because stroke patients sometimes cannot communicate.

This is because some strokes occur in the part of the brain that controls language, Kumar said. Sometimes patients suddenly can’t understand what people are saying to them; other times they can decode what they are hearing but can’t speak coherently.

Depending on the severity and location of the stroke, various forms of rehabilitation may take place to help patients get back to normal. Some experience a full recovery, while others are left permanently disabled.

Several risk factors can increase someone’s chance of having a stroke, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight, diabetes and family history.

Training to maintain an active lifestyle, balance diet and taking precautions such as getting a stent placed if a patient is at risk for a stroke could save a person’s life later, Kumar said.

Stroke care “isn’t just treatment, it’s prevention,” Kumar said.

 

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center receives national award for stroke care - Cheyenne, WY

Worthless puffery. Nothing on results, survivors don't care about care they want RESULTS - 100% RECOVERY.
Who the hell cares about 'guidelines' or 'care'? We want to know results you lazy fucking idiots.
1. Nothing on 100% recovery statistics.
2. Nothing on 30-day deaths compared to other hospitals.
3. Nothing on the efficacy of their stroke rehab protocols.
4.  Nothing on tPA full efficacy.
5. Nothing on their misdiagnosis percentage of strokes, especially young strokes.
Guidelines prove nothing.
You'll' want to know results so Call that  interim Chief Executive Officer(

Patrick Madigan)

general number  (307) 634-2273  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; tPA efficacy, 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, misdiagnosis percentage.
Big fucking whoopee.


The puffery article here:
 http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/newsletter_pm/cheyenne-regional-medical-center-receives-national-award-for-stroke-care/article_1adcc898-6806-11e7-ab21-c7a44a764502.html
Cheyenne ― The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recently presented Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) with the Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award.
Get With The Guidelines-Stroke is a national program that encourages participating hospitals to follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based stroke guidelines, with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Started in 2001, Get With The Guidelines programs, focus on heart and stroke care.
 Hospitals receiving the silver-level award must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to Get With The Guidelines-Stroke core standard levels of care for at least 12 consecutive months.
Guidelines-based care for stroke patients includes the aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.
The award recognizes the center’s commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely, said Carol Rieser, CRMC’s administrator of Specialty Services. She said that the award validates the CRMC’s stroke care team’s “intensive focus” on providing the latest scientific-based treatments for stroke patients to help them achieve the best possible outcomes.
 “In presenting this award, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association are recognizing Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for its commitment to stroke care,” said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. “Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program.”
 According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth-leading 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, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
“The Get With The Guidelines program is so valuable because it helps hospitals put proven knowledge and guidelines to work, on behalf of patients, on a daily basis,” said Rieser.  “Because while it’s an honor for our hospital and clinical team to receive this award, ultimately this award is about doing our utmost to save lives and improve the quality of life for the stroke patients we treat. This award is really for them.”

Stroke care improving: study - Ontario

Meaningless puffery. It says only one thing about results - 30-day deaths. Fucking lazy bastards. They should be keel hauled for doing almost nothing.
http://www.intelligencer.ca/2017/06/26/stroke-care-improving-study
The Quinte region and southeastern Ontario are showing significant improvement in the treatment of stroke patients, a new report shows.

The report was released this month by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the Ontario Stroke Network. It showed improvements to provincial stroke care in general while also emphasizing a need for more work.
The report found the Belleville area – with regional stroke care based at Belleville General Hospital – made the greatest improvement of any Ontario community.
The South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) had Ontario’s biggest improvement in 30-day mortality rate following an acute stroke. That rate dropped to 11.6 per cent in 2015-2016 from 14.2 per cent in the previous three years, the report noted, calling the decrease “unprecedented.”
That decrease can be measured in lives, said Dr. Andrew Samis.
“It’s between 25 and 30 less people dying in our region,” said Samis, an intensive care doctor with Quinte Health Care and the corporation’s “physician stroke champion.” He was instrumental in QHC’s 2014 implementation of its new stroke protocol.
Samis said there has been an “amazing” improvement in local care in recent years.
But he also said those improvements are “all for naught if someone chooses not to call 911.”
Samis said it’s essential anyone noticing the signs of a stroke call 911 immediately before doing anything else. That call, he explained, allows the stroke team crucial minutes to prepare. And in stroke care, minutes count.
That preparation means “your chance of dying goes down.”
The Heart and Stroke Foundation uses the acronym FAST to teach the signs of stroke:
• Face: Is it drooping?
• Arms: Can you raise both?
• Speech: Is it slurred or jumbled?
• Time to call 911 right away.
Access to care in an acute stroke unit in the South East LHIN was found to be 72.6 per cent and climbing. It was second only to the 80.6 per cent in the Waterloo Wellington LHIN.
“The results of this report highlight the great work being done throughout our region,” South East LHIN chief executive officer Paul Huras said in a press release.
“The rural nature of the South East region has often played a role in how patients access specialized stroke care,” Dr. Albert Jin, a Kingston stroke neurologist and medical director for the Regional Stroke Network of Southeastern Ontario, said in the release.
“By creating specialized stroke units in Belleville, Brockville and Kingston we have been able to ensure that patients across the region can quickly access teams of stroke experts,” he said. “This has played a significant role in improving the mortality rate across our LHIN.”
The region was also one of two top performers in providing home-based community rehabilitation, and hospital readmission rates for stroke survivors have been declining steadily. The region was third with a readmission rate of 6.7 per cent. The Ontario average was 7.1 per cent.
There were also improvements in other categories, including emergency department referrals to stroke prevention clinics.
Provincially, the report found the proportion of stroke patients treated in stroke units increased by nearly 11 per cent in 2015-2016.
The time from acute stroke to admission into inpatient rehabilitation dropped by one day from a median of nine days one year ago, the report found.
Yet 57 per cent of Ontario patients did not have access to stroke unit care and the average of inpatient rehabilitation therapy was 63 minutes per day compared to the target of 180 minutes.
“It is exciting and encouraging to see ongoing improvements in stroke care across Ontario,” said Linda Kelloway, the Ontario Stroke Network’s director of best practices, in a joint release with ICES. “More patients are getting to stroke units and wait time for admission to inpatient rehabilitation has decreased.
“However, we need to continue to move the bar up so that improvements continue and Ontarians will benefit.”
lhendry@postmedia.com

Four Abrazo hospitals earn top national honors for stroke care treatment from American Stroke Association

Who the hell cares about 'care' We want to know results you lazy fucking idiots.

1. Nothing on 100% recovery statistics.
2. Nothing on 30-day deaths compared to other hospitals.
3. Nothing on the efficacy of their stroke rehab protocols.
4.  Nothing on tPA full efficacy.
5. Nothing on their misdiagnosis percentage of strokes, especially young strokes.
Guidelines prove nothing.
Big fucking whoopee.
Guidelines here: You can see how this is nothing to be impressed about. This is all indirect action, not results.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthcareResearch/GetWithTheGuidelinesHFStrokeResus/GetWithTheGuidelinesStrokeHomePage/Get-With-The-Guidelines-Stroke-Overview_UCM_308021_Article.jsp
The puffery article here:   

Four Abrazo hospitals earn top national honors for stroke care treatment from American Stroke Association

Four Abrazo hospitals, including the Scottsdale Campus, earned top national honors for stroke care treatment from the American Stroke Association.

Abrazo Community Health Network’s Scottsdale, Arrowhead, Central and Maryvale campuses received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, according to a press release.

The national award recognizes the Abrazo hospitals’ commitment to providing the most appropriate stroke treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines on the latest scientific evidence, said the release.

Hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get with the Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures to receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

Hospitals also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center, featuring a system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department, noted the release, adding that Abrazo is hosting free stroke health checks in May to help raise awareness about strokes since it is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the US.

“A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with the Guidelines-Stroke further his recognition further demonstrates our team’s hard work and commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely,” Abrazo Community Health Network Market Chief Executive Officer Frank Molinaro said in a prepared statement.

On average, someone in the country suffers a stroke every 40 seconds; someone dies of a stroke every four minutes; and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, the release detailed.

For more details, go to AbrazoHealth.com/StrokeHealth or call 844-361-8285.

Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital Earns Prestigious CARF Accreditation For Stroke Specialty Program

I couldn't find any stroke standards at the CARF website - http://www.carf.org/home/
so with nothing public, this is completely f*cking worthless.
You'll' want to know results so Call that hospital president(

Scott Guevin - Chief Executive Officer

general number  (717) 832-2600  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; tPA efficacy, 30 day deaths, 100% recovery.

Big f*cking whoopee.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/penn-state-hershey-rehabilitation-hospital-earns-prestigious-carf-accreditation-for-stroke-specialty-program-300418370.html

News provided by

Select Medical Holdings Corporation

Mar 06, 2017, 10:00 ET

Share this article

---

HERSHEY, Pa., March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital, a joint venture partnership between Select Medical and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, today announced that it received CARF International accreditation for a period of three years for its stroke specialty program. The prestigious accreditation marks a provider's commitment to continually enhance the quality of services(not results) and programs with a focus on patient satisfaction and outcomes. In addition to the stroke specialty program, the hospital holds two previously awarded CARF accreditations for Adult Rehabilitation and Pediatric Rehabilitation.   

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities' Three-Year Accreditation for the stroke specialty program represents the highest level of accreditation that a rehabilitation hospital can receive. The honor is earned based on a rigorous peer review process involving an interdisciplinary team of surveyors that conduct a series of on-site visits to evaluate a hospital's commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable and of the highest quality.

"CARF accreditation validates that we are exceeding industry standards while fulfilling our mission to deliver an exceptional patient experience," said Scott Guevin, chief executive officer at Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital.  "Our dedicated team strives to achieve excellence every day as we serve the rehabilitation needs of adults, adolescents and children in their journey of healing and recovery. We are incredibly proud to add the stroke specialty program to our esteemed CARF accreditations at Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital." 

Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital is a 76-bed facility that provides rehabilitation services for stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputee, wound care, and orthopedics, as well as pediatric and general outpatient rehabilitation. 

"Recognition by CARF is the gold standard in rehabilitation," said Dr. Raymond Reichwein, stroke program director and co-director of the Penn State Stroke Center.  "It is a clear signal to our physicians who refer patients to this next level of care, as well as the patients themselves, that Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital provides superior quality and outcomes." (NO it doesn't say anything about outcomes, stop puffing up your abilities)

About CARFCARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served.

About Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical CenterFounded in 1963 through a gift from The Milton S. Hershey Foundation, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a leading university health center located in Hershey, Pa. The 548-bed Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a provider of high-level, patient-focused medical care. As a Magnet designated hospital since 2007, Hershey Medical Center employs caregivers who are dedicated to excellence and achieving superior patient and community outcomes. The Hershey Medical Center campus includes Penn State College of Medicine (Penn State's medical school), Penn State Cancer Institute and Penn State Children's Hospital—the region's only children's hospital.

About Select Medical Holdings CorporationSelect Medical began operations in 1997 and has grown to be one of the largest operators of specialty hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics and occupational health centers in the United States based on the number of facilities.  As of December 31, 2016, Select Medical operated 103 long term acute care hospitals and 20 acute medical rehabilitation hospitals in 27 states and 1,611 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical's joint venture subsidiary Concentra operated 300 centers in 38 states.  Concentra also provides contract services at employer worksites and Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics.  At December 31, 2016, Select Medical had operations in 46 states and the District of Columbia.  Information about Select Medical is available at: www.selectmedical.com.

Media Contact:Krista Merkel
Select Medical
717-884-7299
KMerkel@selectmedical.com

When you make a gift to the National Stroke Association today, you will have a direct impact in supporting lifelong recovery for millions of stroke survivors in the U.S.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. The NSA is doing nothing useful for survivors.
Let me list the ways;
1. No database of stroke research
2. No listing of  stroke rehab protocols
3. No exact stroke prevention tactics.
4. No stroke strategy on how to solve all the problems in stroke,
5. No leadership on anything to do with stroke.
6. No acknowledgement of any problems in stroke.
7. Nothing useful for survivors. NOTHING!!!
8. No outreach to survivors.
9. No attempt to create a strategy that will solve everything in stroke.
But if you want you believe their puffery, go right ahead.

View this message on our website.

DONATE

Dear dean, “My life is pretty perfect.” – Meredith, Stroke Survivor At 32, Meredith experienced a stroke that left her with an inability to speak or even write her name. Meredith’s story of stroke is shocking. No one anticipates having a stroke at age 32. When you make a gift to the National Stroke Association today, you will have a direct impact in supporting lifelong recovery for millions of stroke survivors in the U.S. Did you know that stroke incidences are increasing, particularly among young people and women? As part of her rehab, Meredith volunteered for the National Stroke Association as a way to prepare herself to re-enter the work world.  “It helped me to have a place to go and to feel gratified,” says Meredith. “Working as a volunteer got me back into the groove of things to be able to return to work. It helped with my memory recall and mathematic skills. Volunteering at the National Stroke Association was a big part of my recovery.” Please make a gift today to support more stroke survivors like Meredith. Your gift means so much more this year, because of our matching gift challenge. All gifts made before Dec. 31, will be matched up to $7,500 thanks to our anonymous donors. With thanks, Crystal Blaylock Director of Development

9707 E. Easter Lane · Suite B Centennial, CO 80112 1-800-STROKES (787-6537)

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ReNeuron: Stem-cell therapy helped stroke patients

Impossible to tell if this really works, not enough information is given to analyze. If this truly worked they would have enough detail for researchers to duplicate the results. Because they don't and are a profit making company I think this is puffery.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reneuron-stem-cell-therapy-helped-stroke-patients-2016-12-05
ReNeuron Group PLC (RENE.LN) said its stem-cell therapy aided the rehabilitation of patients who had been disabled by a stroke, adding to a small but growing body of evidence that such an approach holds promise.
U.K.-based ReNeuron said 15 patients in its 21-person study had a "clinically significant response" on at least one of the three commonly-used scales for assessing improvements following treatment.
Chief Executive Olav Hellebø said he was "particularly excited" that the treatment seemed to help patients perform daily tasks as this was the measure most prized by regulators in Europe and the U.S. The treatment, dubbed CTX, involves having stem cells injected into the brain near the site affected by the stroke.
The company said it would now apply to regulators in Europe and the U.S. to start a larger trial.

Stem-cell therapy, if proven successful, would constitute a rare breakthrough for stroke medicine. Blood-clot busting treatments given in the immediate aftermath of a stroke can minimize damage, but there are currently no other therapies available for stroke, according to Alessandra Granata, a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
Other groups are making progress. Earlier this year, a small clinical trials by researchers at Japanese biotech SanBio Co. suggested that stem-cell therapy had potential to aid stroke patients' rehabilitation. Another small study using SanBio's treatment, by researchers at Stanford University, had positive results.
Athersys Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based company using stem-cell therapy in stroke patients, plans to start enrolling patients into a phase-three clinical trial next year. Its therapy--given within 36 hours of a stroke--is aimed at preventing damage rather than rehabilitation.
-Write to Denise Rolande at denise.rolande@wsj.com

Do You Wish You Were Smarter? Bill Gates's Discovery Is Proven To Double Your IQ And Will Be Banned From The Public

What complete and utter puffery. No results in Google Scholar or PubMed. Completely unproven except as a way to relieve you of money.
http://forbes.com--news.org/n2/gates-intelleral.php?adid={adid}&creative={creative}&device={device}&network={network}&angle={angle}&sxid=ai2v66127tnz

CHI Health earns award for expertise in stroke management - Kearney, NE

A great stroke association leader would be contacting these hospitals and tell them to stop putting out these false puffery articles and just focus on their factual results. But that is a pipe dream of mine.
 These are NOT result awards so they don't tell you anything about how good the program is. Call that hospital president(

Michael Schnieders
President & CEO) 

main telephone number: (308) 865-7100

  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, tPA efficacy?
There is absolutely nothing in here that tells me that the RESULTS are better in this hospital than other hospitals. I don't give a crap about how well you do processes.
Big fucking whoopee.
Guidelines here: You can see how this is nothing to be impressed about. This is all indirect action, not results.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthcareResearch/GetWithTheGuidelinesHFStrokeResus/GetWithTheGuidelinesStrokeHomePage/Get-With-The-Guidelines-Stroke-Overview_UCM_308021_Article.jsp

The puffery article here:
http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/chi-health-earns-award-for-expertise-in-stroke-management/article_60e0d49e-2494-11e6-be44-6f62e385e919.html

CHI Health Good Samaritan has been honored for the way it treats strokes.
The hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus.

The award recognizes the hospital’s adherence to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines to support better outcomes for stroke patients — faster recovery and reduced disability and mortality. Good Sam is the first hospital in Nebraska to earn this elite level of recognition. It has been a primary stroke center since 2011 and treats more than 200 stroke patients yearly.

“A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute treatment is delayed,” said Pamela Palmer, a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is the intensive care and neuro-trauma educator, stroke coordinator. “At Good Samaritan Hospital, we are continually advancing, finding better ways to treat strokes faster and more safely. This award just reinforces our team’s drive to provide the most up-to-date care to our friends and neighbors.”

Good Samaritan has also met specific scientific guidelines as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.

A stoke is also known as a “brain attack,” and affects the brain in much the same way a heart attack affects the heart. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. As a result, part of the brain does not get the blood it needs and begins to die. The longer the blood flow is cut off to the brain, the greater the damage.

Recognizing symptoms and acting fast to get medical attention can save a life and limit disabilities.

Stroke prevalence predicted to double by 2032

What a puff article, nothing on all the problems in stroke, just awareness crap.  Unless we do something drastic the status quo will completely fail stroke survivors. Your children and grandchildren will be screwed if they have a stroke.  

Stroke prevalence predicted to double by 2032   

May marks Stroke Awareness Month, and according to the American Heart Association, stroke is the nation’s fifth most common killer and a leading cause of long-term disability. On average, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every four minutes, someone dies because of one.

Dr. Terry Symonds, emergency services medical director, and Kara Couts, RN, at SSM Health St. Francis Hospital recently collaborated on a news release to educate Nodaway County residents about risk, prevention, and treatment of strokes.

In their release, they define the incident as “when blood, which carries oxygen, fails to reach part of the brain due to either a clot or a burst vessel.”

The release goes on to say, “Without oxygen, brain tissue begins to die. The extensiveness and location of a stroke determine the lasting effects of a stroke. Some people can recover completely from a stroke, while others can suffer paralysis of one side of their body, loss of speech and even death.”

The incidence of stroke is only expected to increase, with a frequently cited study predicting that ischemic strokes, which are the most common types, will double between 2000 and 2032.

According to the press release from SSM Health St. Francis Hospital, despite the prevalence and potential lasting effects of strokes, many don’t take it serious enough or know the warning signs.

Although some strokes occur for no apparent reason, medical professionals encourage people who might be at risk to take preventive measures.

Current smokers have two to four times an increased risk of stroke, compared to nonsmokers or those who have been smoke-free for 10 years. Those with high cholesterol, diabetes, and circulation problems are also at risk for stroke.

Reducing the likelihood of stroke calls for healthy living. In addition to smoking cessation, health professionals recommend maintaining a low body mass index, exercising regularly, and moderating alcohol consumption.

Moderate alcohol consumption, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, means up to one drink per day for women and two for men.

Reports indicate that physical activity is associated with 35 percent reduction in ischemic stroke. The National Stroke Association reports that one-fourth of strokes are recurrent events, so it’s especially important to address lifestyle changes after having a stroke.

Even if a person cannot prevent having a stroke, having a healthy lifestyle before the event can contribute to more favorable results during recovery time.

Stroke also lands in the top 10 causes of death in children, most frequently occurring in their first year of life. Pediatric strokes happen in about 1 in 4,000 live births. For children, the risk factors differ from those for adults. Maternal history of infertility, infection in the amniotic fluid during pregnancy, and high blood pressure in the mother while pregnant can increase risk.

To recognize and quickly respond to stroke, Couts and Symonds recommended using FAST, an acronym to help people identify and respond to signs of stroke.

  F – Face drooping

  A – Arm Weakness

  S – Speech Difficulty

  T – Time to call 911

The faster people can recognize symptoms of a stroke, the faster they can seek treatment from qualified professionals.

Memorial Hospital West Achieves AHA/ASA National Stroke Gold-Plus Award With Target: Stroke Honor Elite Plus Designation - Pembroke Pines, FL

A great stroke association leader would be contacting these hospitals and tell them to stop putting out these false puffery articles and just focus on their factual results. But that is a pipe dream of mine.
 These are NOT result awards so they don't tell you anything about how good the program is. Call that hospital president(

Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, FACHE

 

President and Chief Executive Officer,
Memorial Healthcare System

) 

telephone number: 954-265-5805

  and demand to know what the RESULTS are; 30 day deaths, 100% recovery, tPA efficacy?
There is absolutely nothing in here that tells me that the RESULTS are better in this hospital than other hospitals. I don't give a crap about how well you do processes.
Big f*cking whoopee.
Guidelines here: You can see how this is nothing to be impressed about. This is all indirect action, not results.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthcareResearch/GetWithTheGuidelinesHFStrokeResus/GetWithTheGuidelinesStrokeHomePage/Get-With-The-Guidelines-Stroke-Overview_UCM_308021_Article.jsp

The puffery article here:
http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/05/p8031590/memorial-hospital-west-achieves-ahaasa-national-stroke-gold-plus-award- 
Memorial Hospital West has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus designation.
This achievement, a second for Memorial Healthcare System, recognizes its commitment to emergency stroke care(not RESULTS) to ensure that stroke patients receive optimal treatment according to nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines.
Memorial Regional Hospital was recognized for this level of achievement in 2015 for its excellence in stroke care and earned the Target Stroke Elite-Plus award again this year.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.
To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient's arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. If given intravenously in the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and lessen the chance of permanent disability.
Memorial Hospital West earned the award by meeting specific quality benchmarks for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.
"When it comes to treating stroke, 'time is brain,'" says Brijesh P. Mehta, MD, Medical Director, Stroke and Neurocritical Care, Memorial Neuroscience Institute. "Our multidisciplinary stroke team and the parallel system of care make Memorial Neuroscience Institute at two of our hospitals among the best stroke centers in the country - treating some of highest volumes of patients, with continually improving outcomes, and participating in ongoing landmark research studies to further strengthen our commitment to the field."
"We are pleased to recognize Memorial Hospital West for their commitment to stroke care," said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
"Studies have shown that hospitals that consistently follow Get With The Guidelines quality improvement measures can reduce length of stay and 30-day readmission rates and reduce disparities in care."

 

Study shows inpatient rehabilitation hospitals like SKY Rehab best for stroke patients - Bowling Green, KY

You have no fucking clue if this hospital is any good at stroke rehab. They don't list any factual results of stroke rehab and protocols. Searching for results, stroke rehab and protocol returns nothing. This is all puffery. A great stroke association would call them on the carpet for this crap.
http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/study-shows-inpatient-rehabilitation-hospitals-like-sky-rehab-best-for/article_95f5f879-1d9d-5e73-bd0e-bc0381fd68e2.html

After a recent independent study, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recommend acute inpatient rehabilitation as opposed to nursing home care for stroke patients. SKY Rehab is the only inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the region.

"It's validating. We've always felt our care was top notch,(No mention of results)" said SKY Rehab Chief Executive Officer Stuart Locke. "Bowling Green is fortunate to have this type of facility in southcentral Kentucky."

SKY Rehab Director of Rehabilitation Services Lou Anderson agreed.

"Before, people had to compare the two. We've been doing this for over 20 years," she said. "We have a lot of data to show what would be best for the patients."

SKY Rehab is accredited by the Joint Commission and Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities as a Stroke Specialty Hospital(so what?), neither of which are an option for a long-term care facility, Locke said.

"It's something we do to stay on the cusp and provide the best care available," he said. "We have all the things that a hospital has ... ." 

Anderson finished the sentence: "... with a specialty of rehabilitation."

About 800,000 people have strokes each year in the United States, Anderson said.

"We want to give them the best care," she said.

According to the study, rehabilitation services are delivered by a multidisciplinary team of health care providers with training in neurology, rehabilitation nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech and language therapy.

"Therapists aren't the only ones doing rehab," Locke said. "Everyone's doing it 24/7. It doesn't stop when therapists go home."

The team is under the leadership of a physiatrist, a doctor who is trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation, or by neurologists who have specialized training or board certification in rehabilitation medicine, the study says. Other health professionals such as nurses, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors also work with patients.

"We have a coordinated plan of care for patients. You have more specialization," Anderson said. "All the specialties come together under one facility. We know what care the patient receives before they can go home. We work on caring for the rehabilitation for that patient after they go home. We evaluate them on admission. We evaluate them while they're here. We evaluate them on discharge."

At an inpatient rehab facility, a patient has at least three hours of rehabilitation a day from physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, the study says.

"Here, they see them seven days a week," Locke said.

The hospital is working to get the word out to patients.

"We've already put some literature together on this for family members with someone stricken with strokes," Anderson said. "We want to make it as known as we possibly can."

Locke agreed.

"If this happens, this is what we can do," he said.

SPRINGFIELD - Baystate Medical center's Mini-Medical School will begin its fall session on Sept. 17

If you sign up and go, the Oct. 29, "Stroke/Rehabilitation" with Dr. Rajiv Padmanabhan; class looks like the most entertaining because I'm sure the doctor won't tell you about all the problems in stroke; or the neuronal cascade of death; Or these 177 hyperacute therapies; or Dementia prevention 19 ways. Or really anything useful at all for survivors; Like tPA full recovery percentages, 30 day deaths compared to their peers; 100% recovery percentages compared to their peers. I bet he will tell you nothing at all that isn't puffery or anything backed up by research.

Tuition is $95 per person and $80 for Senior Class and Spirit of Women members. Registration for the fall semester of mini-medical school is now in session by calling Baystate Health Link at (800) 377-4325 or visiting www.baystatehealth.org/minimed

International Stem Cell Corporation Demonstrates Reversal of Neurological Stroke Symptoms Using Neural Stem Cells

This is just a press release so I have no idea if the clinical study actually supports these conclusions.
Self reporting like this is somewhat suspect as to veracity.
http://www.internationalstemcell.com/profiles/investor/NewsPrint.asp?b=1468&ID=76350&m=rl&pop=1&Nav=1&g=583&t=1363
Human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (ISC-hpNSC) can significantly reduce neurological dysfunction after a stroke in animal models, according to recent experiments conducted by International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO), a California-based biotechnology company developing novel stem cell based therapies and biomedical products.
"With no approved treatments for neurological dysfunction, individuals who have suffered a stroke have few treatment options available beyond physical rehabilitation following recovery," stated Ruslan Semechkin Ph.D., the company's chief scientific officer. "These new results are highly encouraging, suggesting that ISC-hpNSC may have significant ability to not only reduce but also reverse these neurological symptoms of dysfunction. These findings not only broaden the future potential use of our neural stem cells beyond Parkinson's disease but also offer hope to a patient population with a significant unmet medical need."
Neural stem cells work to repair the brain in several ways. The cells are attracted to the site of injury(proven where?) and in response to signals released by the damaged tissue release a range of molecules that reduce inflammation and trigger the recovery process. Neural stem cells have the ability to make the various neurological cell types to replace the dead and dying cells necessary for the formation of new brain tissue. In this way the hpNSCs act as coordinators of all the various activities necessary to recover brain function.
ISCO's stroke program uses the same neural stem cells as the company's Parkinson's disease program, derived from the Company's human parthenogenetic stem cells using a cGMP method based on the protocol published in Nature Scientific Reports in March 2013 (click here). Parthenogenetic neural stem cells have been shown in peer-reviewed publications to have superior immunological properties to other neural stem cells. The complete dataset will be presented at an upcoming scientific conference to be announced separately. Further studies investigating the potential for treating stroke are planned.
According to the National Stroke Association stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 130,000 people each year, and is a leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability. Approximately 795,000 strokes will occur each year, one occurring every 40 seconds, and taking a life approximately every four minutes. Approximately two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing the risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death. The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in the United States in 2010 is $73.7 billion. 

Hospital for advanced rehab opens in capital - Amana Healthcare - Abu Dhabi

This is great but with no mention of actual proven results this is all just puffery. YOU will need to demand efficacy percentages or we will once again not know which therapy programs actually work. Your medical teams prefer this because then they get paid regardless of how well their interventions work. With only a 10% full recovery rate current rehab is a total failure. Are they any better than that 10%?
http://gulfnews.com/xpress/abu-dhabi/news/hospital-for-advanced-rehab-opens-in-capital-1.1478807

Stroke Deaths Drop in 2013

Lots of chest thumping here but nothing on the rest of the problems in stroke or any strategy to solve them.  Nothing on all the disability still occurring in survivors.
http://www.strokesmart.org/new?id=311
Stroke, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States in 2012, dropped to the fifth leading cause in 2013, according to recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2013 Findings

The findings are significant and indicate that prevention and intervention efforts are making a difference, an expert in neurology and epidemiology said.
“In this case, the wonderful take-home message is that the decline is real,” said Daniel T. Lackland, professor of epidemiology in the department of neurology at the Medical University of South Carolina. Programs of all kinds designed to decrease the impact of stroke are working, he said.
“These statistics are really providing us with some good information that we’re moving in the right direction. We’re not where we need to be, though,” he said.
The 10 leading causes of death in 2013—heart disease and cancer were the number one and two killers—were the same as in 2012, but two causes, stroke and “unintentional injuries,” switched places.
More than 130,500 people died from unintentional injuries in the U.S. in 2013; just under 129,000 people died from stroke, the data shows.

Possible Explanations

While it’s too early to know exactly why the stroke numbers went down, interventions like the clot-buster tPA likely are a factor, Lackland said.
“We know that management of blood pressure has a major impact here yet only 50 percent of people with high blood pressure have it under control,” he said.
According to Lackland, stroke deaths, stroke incidence, and recurrent strokes are all on the decline.
“It means the clinicians are doing a good job of keeping people alive so that they become stroke survivors,” he said.

Stroke Still At Large

However, research shows that people are having strokes at a younger age. A study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that the increase could be attributed to a rise in risk factors like diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol. Lackland said high blood pressure is also a significant problem.
“We’re seeing higher blood pressure at younger ages,” he said.
Overall, though, the data shows good news when it comes to stroke. It’s evidence that education efforts and medical intervention are saving lives.
“We’ve seen a decline in stroke mortality for almost the past 100 years,” Lackland said. “What’s exciting about this data is that you see the decline is greater since we’ve had programs designed and implemented specifically to reduce stroke mortality.” With no explanation of what programs are being referred to I think this is just puffery, taking responsibility for something they really had no impact on.

St. Cloud MN stroke center receives national honors

This would be more believable if they actually listed statistics on 30-day deaths and  100% recovery.
You could meet all these processes and still have a 100% death rate and be praised for that. Totally wrong thing to measure.
Ask the hospital administrator  for those statistics, this puffery is worthless.
Big Whoopee.
http://www.sctimes.com/story/money/business-quarry/2014/04/18/st-cloud-stroke-center-receives-national-honors/7896359/
St. Cloud Hospital Stroke Center has received the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Quality Achievement Award for implementing quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for the treatment of stroke patients.
St. Cloud Hospital also received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

A Revolutionary Approach to Advancing Human Ability™ After a Stroke

A puff press release piece from RIC. You will notice no factual statistics on recovery.  Unless your rehabilitation place gives out facts they are just trying to appeal to your hopes. And the term is even trademarked. Big Whoopee.
http://www.ric.org/conditions/stroke-recovery/
RIC sets the standard for care by our novel approach to after-stroke treatment. An expert, integrated team of clinicians and researchers work together to set individual patient goals, tackle challenges, and innovate solutions that improve patient recovery.

Our quality is unrivaled. Our care is top ranked for more than two decades.

This is a tremendously exciting time for neuroscience and physical medicine. We’re learning how plastic the brain is, and how we can impact its ability to rewire itself through targeted therapies. We’re standing on the doorstep of brain-based therapies that offer recovery where it was never possible before.
A research study published by the National Institutes of Health confirms that comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation care is most effective in achieving the best recovery after stroke. Choose RIC and you’re choosing the best. As the #1 ranked rehabilitation hospital in the nation for more than two decades, we define quality by how successful we are at getting every patient to lead the most independent and fulfilling life possible. (numbers?)
We are proud to discharge more patients back home (vs. to another care facility) than anywhere else in the region. We have the most state-of-the-art technology and tools at our fingertips and the most accomplished, leading experts in the field.
On behalf of the entire RIC team, we are honored you are considering us and we look forward to working together on a successful recovery.
Richard L. Harvey, MD
Medical Director, RIC’s Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery Center